School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in Lesotho
Lesotho: School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes was 54,343 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
54,343
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
134th
of 222 countries
All-time high
55,754
in 2000
All-time low
26,191
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in Lesotho, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
In 2025, school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in Lesotho stood at 54,343.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 12.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in Lesotho peaked at 55,754 in 2000 and was at its lowest, 26,191, in 1970.
Lesotho ranks 134th of 222 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 26,191 | — |
| 1971 | 27,084 | +3.4% |
| 1972 | 27,853 | +2.8% |
| 1973 | 28,508 | +2.4% |
| 1974 | 29,074 | +2.0% |
| 1975 | 29,554 | +1.7% |
| 1976 | 29,759 | +0.7% |
| 1977 | 30,293 | +1.8% |
| 1978 | 31,039 | +2.5% |
| 1979 | 31,793 | +2.4% |
| 1980 | 32,680 | +2.8% |
| 1981 | 33,565 | +2.7% |
| 1982 | 34,524 | +2.9% |
| 1983 | 35,628 | +3.2% |
| 1984 | 36,887 | +3.5% |
| 1985 | 38,252 | +3.7% |
| 1986 | 39,643 | +3.6% |
| 1987 | 39,527 | -0.3% |
| 1988 | 41,053 | +3.9% |
| 1989 | 42,715 | +4.0% |
| 1990 | 44,209 | +3.5% |
| 1991 | 45,703 | +3.4% |
| 1992 | 47,174 | +3.2% |
| 1993 | 48,523 | +2.9% |
| 1994 | 49,846 | +2.7% |
| 1995 | 51,220 | +2.8% |
| 1996 | 52,512 | +2.5% |
| 1997 | 53,428 | +1.7% |
| 1998 | 53,919 | +0.9% |
| 1999 | 54,282 | +0.7% |
| 2000 | 55,754 | +2.7% |
| 2001 | 54,932 | -1.5% |
| 2002 | 53,741 | -2.2% |
| 2003 | 52,285 | -2.7% |
| 2004 | 50,996 | -2.5% |
| 2005 | 49,434 | -3.1% |
| 2006 | 47,451 | -4.0% |
| 2007 | 46,391 | -2.2% |
| 2008 | 46,158 | -0.5% |
| 2009 | 46,393 | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 46,553 | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 45,308 | -2.7% |
| 2012 | 44,506 | -1.8% |
| 2013 | 44,808 | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 46,418 | +3.6% |
| 2015 | 48,459 | +4.4% |
| 2016 | 48,642 | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 47,704 | -1.9% |
| 2018 | 47,420 | -0.6% |
| 2019 | 47,892 | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 49,860 | +4.1% |
| 2021 | 50,758 | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 50,914 | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 51,277 | +0.7% |
| 2024 | 53,916 | +5.1% |
| 2025 | 54,343 | +0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 29,115 | 26,191 | 31,793 | 10 |
| 1980s | 37,447 | 32,680 | 42,715 | 10 |
| 1990s | 50,082 | 44,209 | 54,282 | 10 |
| 2000s | 50,354 | 46,158 | 55,754 | 10 |
| 2010s | 46,771 | 44,506 | 48,642 | 10 |
| 2020s | 51,845 | 49,860 | 54,343 | 6 |
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 school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in Lesotho?
- School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in Lesotho was 54,343 in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 55,754 in 2000.
- What is the lowest school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 26,191 in 1970.
- How does Lesotho rank for school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes?
- Lesotho ranks 134th out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release