School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female (years) (life) in Lesotho
Lesotho: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female (years) (life) was 10.72 years in 2017. ▲ Rising
Latest (2017)
10.72 years
Change on year
up 1.6%
World rank
141st
of 208 countries
All-time high
11.38 years
in 2012
All-time low
8.05 years
in 1972
Years of data
45
1970–2017
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in Lesotho, 1970–2017
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 10.72 years for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in 2017.
That represents a change of up 1.6% on the previous year and down 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in Lesotho peaked at 11.38 years in 2012 and was at its lowest, 8.05 years, in 1972.
That places Lesotho 141st out of 208 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female (years) (life) in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 8.79 years | — |
| 1972 | 8.05 years | -8.4% |
| 1973 | 8.44 years | +4.8% |
| 1975 | 9.14 years | +8.4% |
| 1976 | 9.14 years | -0.0% |
| 1977 | 9.23 years | +1.0% |
| 1978 | 9.33 years | +1.2% |
| 1979 | 9.49 years | +1.6% |
| 1980 | 9.59 years | +1.1% |
| 1981 | 9.81 years | +2.3% |
| 1982 | 10.01 years | +2.1% |
| 1983 | 10.14 years | +1.3% |
| 1984 | 10 years | -1.4% |
| 1985 | 10.12 years | +1.2% |
| 1986 | 9.98 years | -1.4% |
| 1987 | 10.47 years | +4.9% |
| 1988 | 10.55 years | +0.8% |
| 1989 | 10.27 years | -2.7% |
| 1990 | 9.99 years | -2.7% |
| 1991 | 9.99 years | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 9.71 years | -2.9% |
| 1993 | 9.24 years | -4.8% |
| 1994 | 9.43 years | +2.1% |
| 1996 | 9.17 years | -2.7% |
| 1997 | 8.59 years | -6.4% |
| 1998 | 9.01 years | +4.9% |
| 1999 | 8.82 years | -2.2% |
| 2000 | 9.48 years | +7.6% |
| 2001 | 9.66 years | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 9.9 years | +2.5% |
| 2003 | 10.28 years | +3.9% |
| 2004 | 10.45 years | +1.7% |
| 2005 | 10.65 years | +1.9% |
| 2006 | 10.99 years | +3.2% |
| 2007 | 10.8 years | -1.8% |
| 2008 | 10.96 years | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 11.15 years | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 11.3 years | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 11.35 years | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 11.38 years | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 11 years | -3.4% |
| 2014 | 10.89 years | -1.0% |
| 2015 | 10.76 years | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 10.54 years | -2.0% |
| 2017 | 10.72 years | +1.6% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 10.72 years is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 10.64 years, 1.0× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 10.72 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.72 years, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 8.95 years | 8.05 years | 9.49 years | 8 |
| 1980s | 10.09 years | 9.59 years | 10.55 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 9.33 years | 8.59 years | 9.99 years | 9 |
| 2000s | 10.43 years | 9.48 years | 11.15 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 10.99 years | 10.54 years | 11.38 years | 8 |
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 school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in Lesotho?
- School life expectancy, primary and secondary, female in Lesotho was 10.72 years in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 11.38 years in 2012.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.05 years in 1972.
- How does Lesotho rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female?
- Lesotho ranks 141st out of 208 countries with data for 2017.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, female rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.8%. 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 secondary, female (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release