School completion in Lesotho
Lesotho: School completion was 79.78 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
79.78
Change on year
up 1.4%
World rank
124th
of 165 countries
All-time high
79.78
in 2025
All-time low
40.61
in 1981
Years of data
45
1981–2025
School completion in Lesotho, 1981–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 79.78 for school completion 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, school completion in Lesotho peaked at 79.78 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 40.61, 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.
School completion in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 40.61 | — |
| 1982 | 41.01 | +1.0% |
| 1983 | 41.45 | +1.1% |
| 1984 | 41.81 | +0.9% |
| 1985 | 42.2 | +0.9% |
| 1986 | 42.28 | +0.2% |
| 1987 | 42.41 | +0.3% |
| 1988 | 42.62 | +0.5% |
| 1989 | 42.98 | +0.8% |
| 1990 | 43.45 | +1.1% |
| 1991 | 44.04 | +1.4% |
| 1992 | 44.77 | +1.7% |
| 1993 | 45.59 | +1.8% |
| 1994 | 46.29 | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 46.83 | +1.2% |
| 1996 | 47.09 | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 47.17 | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 47.17 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 47.15 | -0.0% |
| 2000 | 47.28 | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 47.75 | +1.0% |
| 2002 | 48.54 | +1.7% |
| 2003 | 49.73 | +2.5% |
| 2004 | 51.36 | +3.3% |
| 2005 | 53.17 | +3.5% |
| 2006 | 54.97 | +3.4% |
| 2007 | 56.44 | +2.7% |
| 2008 | 57.61 | +2.1% |
| 2009 | 58.69 | +1.9% |
| 2010 | 59.68 | +1.7% |
| 2011 | 60.7 | +1.7% |
| 2012 | 61.72 | +1.7% |
| 2013 | 62.72 | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 63.92 | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 65.38 | +2.3% |
| 2016 | 67.07 | +2.6% |
| 2017 | 68.88 | +2.7% |
| 2018 | 70.62 | +2.5% |
| 2019 | 72.08 | +2.1% |
| 2020 | 73.46 | +1.9% |
| 2021 | 74.8 | +1.8% |
| 2022 | 76.19 | +1.9% |
| 2023 | 77.49 | +1.7% |
| 2024 | 78.68 | +1.5% |
| 2025 | 79.78 | +1.4% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 79.78 is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 86.1, 93% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 79.78 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 72.16, 1.1× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 41.93 | 40.61 | 42.98 | 9 |
| 1990s | 45.95 | 43.45 | 47.17 | 10 |
| 2000s | 52.55 | 47.28 | 58.69 | 10 |
| 2010s | 65.28 | 59.68 | 72.08 | 10 |
| 2020s | 76.73 | 73.46 | 79.78 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More education data for Lesotho
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 68.25 (2024)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 67.83 (2024)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school completion in Lesotho?
- School completion in Lesotho was 79.78 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest school completion recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 79.78 in 2025.
- What is the lowest school completion recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 40.61 in 1981.
- How does Lesotho rank for school completion?
- Lesotho ranks 124th out of 165 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school completion 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 Our World in Data, published as part of School completion. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).