Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Lesotho
Lesotho: Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates was 80.2% in 2024. ▬ Flat
Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Lesotho, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Lesotho is 80.2%, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 55 years on record.
The figure is down 1.8% on the previous year and down 25.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Lesotho peaked at 130.0% in 2006 and was at its lowest, 80.2%, in 2024.
Lesotho ranks 205th of 217 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 95.8% | 86.2% | 103.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 104.4% | 99.7% | 108.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 98.6% | 94.9% | 103.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 120.7% | 109.0% | 130.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 107.2% | 91.3% | 118.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 83.6% | 80.2% | 87.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More education data for Lesotho
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 62.0% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 34.1% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 13 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 80.2% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 10,388 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 2.66 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 78.6% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Lesotho?
- Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Lesotho was 80.2% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 130.0% in 2006.
- What is the lowest primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 80.2% in 2024.
- How does Lesotho rank for primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates?
- Lesotho ranks 205th out of 217 countries with data for 2024.
- Is primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 25.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 55 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Number of children of any age group who are enrolled in primary education, expressed as a percentage of the total population of the official primary school age.