Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Lesotho
Lesotho: Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school was 20.6% in 2020. ▼ Falling
Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Lesotho, 2005–2020
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Lesotho stood at 20.6%. That is the lowest value across all 9 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and down 17.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Lesotho peaked at 25.3% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 20.6%, in 2020.
That places Lesotho 160th out of 178 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 25.3% | — |
| 2013 | 25.1% | -0.7% |
| 2014 | 21.5% | -14.4% |
| 2015 | 23.9% | +11.1% |
| 2016 | 23.1% | -3.3% |
| 2017 | 22.6% | -2.2% |
| 2018 | 21.5% | -4.8% |
| 2019 | 20.6% | -4.1% |
| 2020 | 20.6% | -0.1% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 20.6% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 33.8%, 61% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 20.6% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 25.4%, 81% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 25.3% | 25.3% | 25.3% | 1 |
| 2010s | 22.6% | 20.6% | 25.1% | 7 |
| 2020s | 20.6% | 20.6% | 20.6% | 1 |
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 enrolled in pre-primary school in Lesotho?
- Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Lesotho was 20.6% in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children enrolled in pre-primary school recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 25.3% in 2005.
- What is the lowest share of children enrolled in pre-primary school recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.6% in 2020.
- How does Lesotho rank for share of children enrolled in pre-primary school?
- Lesotho ranks 160th out of 178 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of children enrolled in pre-primary school rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 17.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 enrolled in pre-primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of children of pre-primary school age (typically 3–5 years old) who are enrolled in pre-primary education.