School enrollment, primary in Lesotho
Lesotho: School enrollment, primary was 93.3% in 2017. ▲ Rising
School enrollment, primary in Lesotho, 1970–2017
Source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % net.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 93.3% for school enrollment, primary in 2017. That is the highest value across all 46 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.0% on the previous year and up 10.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school enrollment, primary in Lesotho peaked at 93.3% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 54.3%, in 1999.
That places Lesotho 98th out of 186 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 46 years of available data.
School enrollment, primary in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % net | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 59.1% | — |
| 1971 | 55.3% | -6.5% |
| 1972 | 55.9% | +1.1% |
| 1973 | 56.2% | +0.6% |
| 1974 | 63.8% | +13.6% |
| 1976 | 64.2% | +0.6% |
| 1977 | 64.9% | +1.0% |
| 1978 | 58.4% | -10.0% |
| 1979 | 59.4% | +1.6% |
| 1980 | 59.5% | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 59.6% | +0.2% |
| 1982 | 63.4% | +6.4% |
| 1983 | 62.8% | -0.9% |
| 1984 | 63.6% | +1.2% |
| 1985 | 65.7% | +3.3% |
| 1986 | 65.4% | -0.4% |
| 1987 | 66.5% | +1.7% |
| 1988 | 67.3% | +1.2% |
| 1989 | 66.4% | -1.4% |
| 1990 | 65.1% | -1.9% |
| 1991 | 66.3% | +1.8% |
| 1992 | 66.3% | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 64.0% | -3.5% |
| 1994 | 64.9% | +1.4% |
| 1995 | 63.9% | -1.6% |
| 1996 | 64.1% | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 57.2% | -10.7% |
| 1999 | 54.3% | -5.1% |
| 2000 | 74.5% | +37.2% |
| 2001 | 76.3% | +2.4% |
| 2002 | 78.8% | +3.3% |
| 2003 | 81.6% | +3.6% |
| 2004 | 81.9% | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 83.8% | +2.3% |
| 2006 | 86.1% | +2.8% |
| 2007 | 84.6% | -1.7% |
| 2008 | 86.2% | +1.9% |
| 2009 | 86.8% | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 88.6% | +2.1% |
| 2011 | 88.9% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 89.2% | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 86.4% | -3.2% |
| 2014 | 87.4% | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 88.6% | +1.4% |
| 2016 | 90.6% | +2.2% |
| 2017 | 93.3% | +3.0% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 93.3% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 90.3%, 1.0× the median. (45 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 93.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 83.9%, 1.1× the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School enrollment, primary in Lesotho changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | +37.2% | 54.3% | 74.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 59.7% | 55.3% | 64.9% | 9 |
| 1980s | 64.0% | 59.5% | 67.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 62.9% | 54.3% | 66.3% | 9 |
| 2000s | 82.0% | 74.5% | 86.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 89.1% | 86.4% | 93.3% | 8 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 95 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 93.6% compare
- 96 Indonesia 93.5% compare
- 97 Cape Verde 93.4% compare
- 99 Switzerland 93.2% compare
- 100 Brunei 93.1% compare
- 101 Guyana 93.1% compare
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 enrollment, primary in Lesotho?
- School enrollment, primary in Lesotho was 93.3% in 2017, according to Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest school enrollment, primary recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 93.3% in 2017.
- What is the lowest school enrollment, primary recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 54.3% in 1999.
- How does Lesotho rank for school enrollment, primary?
- Lesotho ranks 98th out of 186 countries with data for 2017.
- Is school enrollment, primary rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 10.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of School enrollment, primary (% net). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 46 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Net enrollment rate is the ratio of children of official school age who are enrolled in school to the population of the corresponding official school age. Primary education provides children with basic reading, writing, and mathematics skills along with an elementary understanding of such subjects as history, geography, natural science, social science, art, and music.