School life expectancy, primary and lower … life both sexes lower in Lesotho
Lesotho: School life expectancy, primary and lower … life both sexes lower was 9.56 years in 2017. ▲ Rising
Latest (2017)
9.56 years
Change on year
up 0.6%
World rank
59th
of 200 countries
All-time high
10.36 years
in 2010
All-time low
7.97 years
in 1999
Years of data
21
1996–2017
School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Lesotho, 1996–2017
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2017, school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Lesotho stood at 9.56 years.
The figure is up 0.6% on the previous year and down 6.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Lesotho peaked at 10.36 years in 2010 and was at its lowest, 7.97 years, in 1999.
That places Lesotho 59th out of 200 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and lower … life both sexes lower in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1996 | 8.21 years | — |
| 1998 | 8.03 years | -2.2% |
| 1999 | 7.97 years | -0.8% |
| 2000 | 8.77 years | +10.1% |
| 2001 | 8.98 years | +2.4% |
| 2002 | 9.22 years | +2.7% |
| 2003 | 9.66 years | +4.8% |
| 2004 | 9.82 years | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 10.01 years | +1.9% |
| 2006 | 10.34 years | +3.4% |
| 2007 | 10.17 years | -1.7% |
| 2008 | 10.25 years | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 10.3 years | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 10.36 years | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 10.34 years | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 10.24 years | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 9.91 years | -3.2% |
| 2014 | 9.78 years | -1.4% |
| 2015 | 9.6 years | -1.8% |
| 2016 | 9.5 years | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 9.56 years | +0.6% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 9.56 years is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 8.68 years, 1.1× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 9.56 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 8.5 years, 1.1× the median. (43 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8.07 years | 7.97 years | 8.21 years | 3 |
| 2000s | 9.75 years | 8.77 years | 10.34 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 9.91 years | 9.5 years | 10.36 years | 8 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 56 Costa Rica 9.67 years compare
- 57 Nauru 9.58 years compare
- 58 Cape Verde 9.56 years compare
- 60 United Kingdom 9.54 years compare
- 61 Colombia 9.51 years compare
- 62 Spain 9.51 years 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 life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Lesotho?
- School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Lesotho was 9.56 years in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 10.36 years in 2010.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.97 years in 1999.
- How does Lesotho rank for school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes?
- Lesotho ranks 59th out of 200 countries with data for 2017.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 6.0%. 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, published as part of School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release