School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, male (years) (male) in Lesotho
Lesotho: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, male (years) (male) was 10.61 years in 2017. ▲ Rising
Latest (2017)
10.61 years
Change on year
down 0.7%
World rank
148th
of 179 countries
All-time high
11.34 years
in 2012
All-time low
6.01 years
in 1973
Years of data
33
1970–2017
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, male in Lesotho, 1970–2017
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 10.61 years for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, male in 2017.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.7% on the previous year and down 3.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, male in Lesotho peaked at 11.34 years in 2012 and was at its lowest, 6.01 years, in 1973.
Lesotho ranks 148th of 179 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, male (years) (male) in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 6.19 years | — |
| 1973 | 6.01 years | -2.9% |
| 1975 | 6.47 years | +7.6% |
| 1977 | 6.53 years | +0.9% |
| 1978 | 6.56 years | +0.5% |
| 1979 | 6.7 years | +2.2% |
| 1981 | 7.21 years | +7.6% |
| 1982 | 7.59 years | +5.3% |
| 1983 | 7.8 years | +2.8% |
| 1984 | 7.91 years | +1.3% |
| 1985 | 8.1 years | +2.4% |
| 1986 | 7.99 years | -1.4% |
| 1987 | 8.12 years | +1.6% |
| 1988 | 8.28 years | +2.1% |
| 1989 | 8.24 years | -0.5% |
| 1990 | 8.12 years | -1.4% |
| 1991 | 8.21 years | +1.1% |
| 1992 | 8.23 years | +0.2% |
| 1993 | 8.01 years | -2.6% |
| 1994 | 8.34 years | +4.1% |
| 1996 | 8.32 years | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 8.23 years | -1.1% |
| 2000 | 9.15 years | +11.2% |
| 2001 | 9.46 years | +3.3% |
| 2002 | 9.69 years | +2.4% |
| 2003 | 10.11 years | +4.4% |
| 2005 | 10.61 years | +5.0% |
| 2006 | 10.94 years | +3.1% |
| 2012 | 11.34 years | +3.6% |
| 2013 | 10.97 years | -3.2% |
| 2014 | 10.88 years | -0.8% |
| 2015 | 10.69 years | -1.8% |
| 2017 | 10.61 years | -0.7% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 10.61 years is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 11.52 years, 92% of the median. (39 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 10.61 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 10.61 years, 1.0× the median. (41 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 6.41 years | 6.01 years | 6.7 years | 6 |
| 1980s | 7.91 years | 7.21 years | 8.28 years | 9 |
| 1990s | 8.21 years | 8.01 years | 8.34 years | 7 |
| 2000s | 9.99 years | 9.15 years | 10.94 years | 6 |
| 2010s | 10.9 years | 10.61 years | 11.34 years | 5 |
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 to tertiary, male in Lesotho?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, male in Lesotho was 10.61 years in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, male recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 11.34 years in 2012.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, male recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.01 years in 1973.
- How does Lesotho rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, male?
- Lesotho ranks 148th out of 179 countries with data for 2017.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, male rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 3.0%. 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 to tertiary, male (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 33 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release