Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Lesotho
Lesotho: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes was 58.4% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Lesotho, 1971–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 58.4% for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in 2024.
That represents a change of down 1.8% on the previous year and up 54.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Lesotho peaked at 73.5% in 1977 and was at its lowest, 32.5%, in 2011.
That places Lesotho 24th out of 184 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 44 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 71.6% | — |
| 1973 | 69.6% | -2.8% |
| 1977 | 73.5% | +5.7% |
| 1978 | 60.3% | -17.9% |
| 1979 | 58.3% | -3.4% |
| 1980 | 51.8% | -11.1% |
| 1981 | 46.7% | -9.9% |
| 1982 | 46.0% | -1.4% |
| 1983 | 49.4% | +7.4% |
| 1984 | 46.3% | -6.3% |
| 1985 | 46.2% | -0.3% |
| 1986 | 43.8% | -5.1% |
| 1991 | 43.7% | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 47.2% | +8.1% |
| 1993 | 50.0% | +5.9% |
| 1994 | 47.4% | -5.2% |
| 1996 | 43.5% | -8.1% |
| 1998 | 39.8% | -8.5% |
| 1999 | 35.2% | -11.6% |
| 2000 | 49.0% | +39.1% |
| 2001 | 47.2% | -3.6% |
| 2002 | 46.9% | -0.6% |
| 2003 | 44.2% | -5.8% |
| 2004 | 39.0% | -11.7% |
| 2005 | 40.0% | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 38.9% | -2.9% |
| 2007 | 40.9% | +5.3% |
| 2008 | 40.2% | -1.7% |
| 2009 | 39.0% | -2.9% |
| 2010 | 33.6% | -14.0% |
| 2011 | 32.5% | -3.1% |
| 2012 | 32.8% | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 36.9% | +12.5% |
| 2014 | 37.9% | +2.6% |
| 2015 | 35.0% | -7.6% |
| 2016 | 35.0% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 35.9% | +2.4% |
| 2018 | 42.9% | +19.7% |
| 2019 | 48.4% | +12.7% |
| 2020 | 53.2% | +10.0% |
| 2021 | 52.7% | -1.0% |
| 2022 | 53.0% | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 59.4% | +12.2% |
| 2024 | 58.4% | -1.8% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 58.4% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 37.6%, 1.6× the median. (39 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 58.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 55.3%, 1.1× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Lesotho changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | +39.1% | 35.2% | 49.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 66.7% | 58.3% | 73.5% | 5 |
| 1980s | 47.2% | 43.8% | 51.8% | 7 |
| 1990s | 43.8% | 35.2% | 50.0% | 7 |
| 2000s | 42.5% | 38.9% | 49.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 37.1% | 32.5% | 48.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 55.3% | 52.7% | 59.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More education data for Lesotho
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 5,672 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 30,627 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 22,924 (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 23,698 (2022)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 136,497 (2017)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 309,480 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -0.8093 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1324 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Lesotho?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes in Lesotho was 58.4% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 73.5% in 1977.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 32.5% in 2011.
- How does Lesotho rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes?
- Lesotho ranks 24th out of 184 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 54.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 44 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release