School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life both) in Lesotho
Lesotho: School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life both) was 2.97 years in 2017. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Lesotho, 1970–2017
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2017, school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Lesotho stood at 2.97 years.
That represents a change of up 3.2% on the previous year and up 42.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Lesotho peaked at 2.98 years in 2015 and was at its lowest, 0.402 years, in 1972.
That places Lesotho 190th out of 214 countries with data for 2017, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 47 years of available data.
School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life both) in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 0.7 years | — |
| 1971 | 0.4118 years | -41.2% |
| 1972 | 0.402 years | -2.4% |
| 1973 | 0.5946 years | +47.9% |
| 1975 | 0.5978 years | +0.5% |
| 1976 | 0.6303 years | +5.4% |
| 1977 | 0.6822 years | +8.2% |
| 1978 | 0.6875 years | +0.8% |
| 1979 | 0.8008 years | +16.5% |
| 1980 | 0.8506 years | +6.2% |
| 1981 | 0.9291 years | +9.2% |
| 1982 | 0.9522 years | +2.5% |
| 1983 | 1.08 years | +13.3% |
| 1984 | 1.12 years | +3.5% |
| 1985 | 1.15 years | +2.8% |
| 1986 | 1.18 years | +2.7% |
| 1987 | 1.18 years | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 1.23 years | +3.8% |
| 1989 | 1.23 years | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 1.22 years | -0.9% |
| 1991 | 1.29 years | +5.4% |
| 1992 | 1.34 years | +3.8% |
| 1993 | 1.38 years | +3.2% |
| 1994 | 1.53 years | +10.8% |
| 1995 | 1.44 years | -5.8% |
| 1996 | 1.55 years | +7.5% |
| 1997 | 1.46 years | -5.5% |
| 1998 | 1.64 years | +11.9% |
| 1999 | 1.58 years | -3.6% |
| 2000 | 1.54 years | -2.6% |
| 2001 | 1.61 years | +4.6% |
| 2002 | 1.65 years | +2.5% |
| 2003 | 1.68 years | +1.8% |
| 2004 | 1.79 years | +6.7% |
| 2005 | 1.9 years | +5.7% |
| 2006 | 1.95 years | +3.0% |
| 2007 | 2.08 years | +6.4% |
| 2008 | 2.24 years | +7.7% |
| 2009 | 2.46 years | +9.9% |
| 2010 | 2.68 years | +8.8% |
| 2011 | 2.83 years | +5.8% |
| 2012 | 2.94 years | +3.9% |
| 2013 | 2.88 years | -2.2% |
| 2014 | 2.91 years | +1.1% |
| 2015 | 2.98 years | +2.5% |
| 2016 | 2.88 years | -3.5% |
| 2017 | 2.97 years | +3.2% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 2.97 years is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.2 years, 71% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 2.97 years is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.05 years, 97% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes (years) (life both) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | -41.2% | 0.7 years | 0.4118 years |
| 1973 | +47.9% | 0.402 years | 0.5946 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.6119 years | 0.402 years | 0.8008 years | 9 |
| 1980s | 1.09 years | 0.8506 years | 1.23 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.44 years | 1.22 years | 1.64 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.89 years | 1.54 years | 2.46 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.88 years | 2.68 years | 2.98 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, secondary, both sexes in Lesotho?
- School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Lesotho was 2.97 years in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 2.98 years in 2015.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.402 years in 1972.
- How does Lesotho rank for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes?
- Lesotho ranks 190th out of 214 countries with data for 2017.
- Is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 42.8%. 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, secondary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 47 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release