Share of children who have completed primary school in Lesotho
Lesotho: Share of children who have completed primary school was 79.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of children who have completed primary school in Lesotho, 1981–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 79.8% for share of children who have completed primary school in 2025. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.4% on the previous year and up 22.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who have completed primary school in Lesotho peaked at 79.8% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 40.6%, in 1981.
Lesotho ranks 124th of 165 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Share of children who have completed primary school in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 40.6% | — |
| 1982 | 41.0% | +1.0% |
| 1983 | 41.5% | +1.1% |
| 1984 | 41.8% | +0.9% |
| 1985 | 42.2% | +0.9% |
| 1986 | 42.3% | +0.2% |
| 1987 | 42.4% | +0.3% |
| 1988 | 42.6% | +0.5% |
| 1989 | 43.0% | +0.8% |
| 1990 | 43.5% | +1.1% |
| 1991 | 44.0% | +1.4% |
| 1992 | 44.8% | +1.7% |
| 1993 | 45.6% | +1.8% |
| 1994 | 46.3% | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 46.8% | +1.2% |
| 1996 | 47.1% | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 47.2% | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 47.2% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 47.1% | -0.0% |
| 2000 | 47.3% | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 47.8% | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 48.5% | +1.7% |
| 2003 | 49.7% | +2.5% |
| 2004 | 51.4% | +3.3% |
| 2005 | 53.2% | +3.5% |
| 2006 | 55.0% | +3.4% |
| 2007 | 56.4% | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 57.6% | +2.1% |
| 2009 | 58.7% | +1.9% |
| 2010 | 59.7% | +1.7% |
| 2011 | 60.7% | +1.7% |
| 2012 | 61.7% | +1.7% |
| 2013 | 62.7% | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 63.9% | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 65.4% | +2.3% |
| 2016 | 67.1% | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 68.9% | +2.7% |
| 2018 | 70.6% | +2.5% |
| 2019 | 72.1% | +2.1% |
| 2020 | 73.5% | +1.9% |
| 2021 | 74.8% | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 76.2% | +1.9% |
| 2023 | 77.5% | +1.7% |
| 2024 | 78.7% | +1.5% |
| 2025 | 79.8% | +1.4% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 79.8% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 86.1%, 93% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 79.8% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 72.2%, 1.1× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 41.9% | 40.6% | 43.0% | 9 |
| 1990s | 46.0% | 43.5% | 47.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 52.6% | 47.3% | 58.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 65.3% | 59.7% | 72.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 76.7% | 73.5% | 79.8% | 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 share of children who have completed primary school in Lesotho?
- Share of children who have completed primary school in Lesotho was 79.8% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 79.8% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 40.6% in 1981.
- How does Lesotho rank for share of children who have completed primary school?
- Lesotho ranks 124th out of 165 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of children who have completed primary school rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 22.0%. 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 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who have completed primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of children who are three to five years older than the official age for the last grade of primary education who have successfully completed it. This broader age band is used to include children who started school late or had to resit particular years.