Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in Lesotho
Lesotho: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male was 63.0% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
63.0%
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
20th
of 179 countries
All-time high
74.9%
in 1977
All-time low
35.8%
in 2011
Years of data
43
1973–2024
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in Lesotho, 1973–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in Lesotho is 63.0%, measured in 2024.
The figure is down 0.3% on the previous year and up 52.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in Lesotho peaked at 74.9% in 1977 and was at its lowest, 35.8%, in 2011.
That places Lesotho 20th out of 179 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 43 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 69.9% | — |
| 1977 | 74.9% | +7.1% |
| 1978 | 65.2% | -13.0% |
| 1979 | 63.5% | -2.6% |
| 1980 | 58.0% | -8.6% |
| 1981 | 54.1% | -6.8% |
| 1982 | 52.0% | -3.9% |
| 1983 | 55.2% | +6.2% |
| 1984 | 52.7% | -4.4% |
| 1985 | 52.1% | -1.2% |
| 1986 | 50.1% | -3.9% |
| 1991 | 49.7% | -0.8% |
| 1992 | 50.6% | +1.8% |
| 1993 | 52.6% | +3.9% |
| 1994 | 50.7% | -3.6% |
| 1996 | 45.4% | -10.5% |
| 1998 | 44.6% | -1.9% |
| 1999 | 37.8% | -15.1% |
| 2000 | 48.5% | +28.2% |
| 2001 | 45.7% | -5.9% |
| 2002 | 46.1% | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 43.6% | -5.5% |
| 2004 | 38.5% | -11.7% |
| 2005 | 40.8% | +6.1% |
| 2006 | 39.7% | -2.7% |
| 2007 | 42.4% | +6.7% |
| 2008 | 42.7% | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 42.2% | -1.3% |
| 2010 | 37.1% | -12.0% |
| 2011 | 35.8% | -3.6% |
| 2012 | 36.5% | +2.0% |
| 2013 | 39.4% | +7.9% |
| 2014 | 41.4% | +5.0% |
| 2015 | 39.4% | -4.8% |
| 2016 | 38.9% | -1.2% |
| 2017 | 39.6% | +1.9% |
| 2018 | 46.7% | +17.7% |
| 2019 | 52.3% | +12.1% |
| 2020 | 57.9% | +10.7% |
| 2021 | 57.4% | -0.9% |
| 2022 | 58.2% | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 63.2% | +8.6% |
| 2024 | 63.0% | -0.3% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 63.0% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 38.4%, 1.6× the median. (39 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 63.0% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 52.1%, 1.2× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 68.4% | 63.5% | 74.9% | 4 |
| 1980s | 53.4% | 50.1% | 58.0% | 7 |
| 1990s | 47.3% | 37.8% | 52.6% | 7 |
| 2000s | 43.0% | 38.5% | 48.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 40.7% | 35.8% | 52.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 59.9% | 57.4% | 63.2% | 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, male in Lesotho?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male in Lesotho was 63.0% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 74.9% in 1977.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 35.8% in 2011.
- How does Lesotho rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male?
- Lesotho ranks 20th out of 179 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, male rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 52.4%. 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, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 43 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release