School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Lesotho

Lesotho: School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes was 0.5666 years in 2018. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2018)
0.5666 years
Change on year
down 6.7%
World rank
148th
of 183 countries
All-time high
0.6899 years
in 2012
All-time low
0.0168 years
in 1972
Years of data
40
1970–2018

School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Lesotho, 1970–2018

00.20.40.61970199420181970: 0.022 years1971: 0.018 years1972: 0.017 years1973: 0.023 years1974: 0.027 years1975: 0.024 years1976: 0.031 years1977: 0.041 years1978: 0.045 years1979: 0.051 years1980: 0.047 years1981: 0.051 years1982: 0.053 years1983: 0.053 years1984: 0.05 years1985: 0.063 years1986: 0.064 years1987: 0.075 years1988: 0.08 years1989: 0.077 years1990: 0.063 years1991: 0.063 years1992: 0.108 years1993: 0.113 years1994: 0.12 years1995: 0.117 years1996: 0.119 years1999: 0.106 years2000: 0.13 years2001: 0.109 years2002: 0.108 years2003: 0.163 years2005: 0.199 years2006: 0.207 years2012: 0.69 years2013: 0.662 years2014: 0.633 years2015: 0.578 years2017: 0.607 years2018: 0.567 years

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

The most recent figure for school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Lesotho is 0.5666 years, measured in 2018.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 6.7% on the previous year and up 174.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Lesotho peaked at 0.6899 years in 2012 and was at its lowest, 0.0168 years, in 1972.

Lesotho ranks 148th of 183 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Lesotho, year by year

Annual values for School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years) in Lesotho, 1970 to 2018.
Year years Change
1970 0.0217 years —
1971 0.0184 years -15.0%
1972 0.0168 years -8.7%
1973 0.0226 years +34.2%
1974 0.0266 years +17.6%
1975 0.0243 years -8.5%
1976 0.0315 years +29.6%
1977 0.041 years +30.2%
1978 0.045 years +9.7%
1979 0.0512 years +13.7%
1980 0.0468 years -8.5%
1981 0.0505 years +7.9%
1982 0.0528 years +4.4%
1983 0.0532 years +0.8%
1984 0.0499 years -6.1%
1985 0.0628 years +25.8%
1986 0.0644 years +2.5%
1987 0.0753 years +16.9%
1988 0.0799 years +6.2%
1989 0.0771 years -3.5%
1990 0.0633 years -17.9%
1991 0.0634 years +0.1%
1992 0.1079 years +70.2%
1993 0.1132 years +4.9%
1994 0.1198 years +5.9%
1995 0.1166 years -2.7%
1996 0.1186 years +1.7%
1999 0.1058 years -10.7%
2000 0.1301 years +22.9%
2001 0.1092 years -16.1%
2002 0.108 years -1.1%
2003 0.1633 years +51.2%
2005 0.1992 years +22.0%
2006 0.2068 years +3.8%
2012 0.6899 years +233.6%
2013 0.6616 years -4.1%
2014 0.6331 years -4.3%
2015 0.5785 years -8.6%
2017 0.607 years +4.9%
2018 0.5666 years -6.7%

Lesotho compared with similar countries

  • Lesotho's 0.5666 years is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 0.678 years, 84% of the median. (43 countries reporting)
  • Lesotho's 0.5666 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.4497 years, 1.3× the median. (45 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes 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.

YearChange FromTo
2012 +233.6% 0.2068 years 0.6899 years

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 0.0299 years 0.0168 years 0.0512 years 10
1980s 0.0613 years 0.0468 years 0.0799 years 10
1990s 0.1011 years 0.0633 years 0.1198 years 8
2000s 0.1527 years 0.108 years 0.2068 years 6
2010s 0.6228 years 0.5666 years 0.6899 years 6

Countries ranked near Lesotho

  1. 145 Guyana 0.5811 years compare
  2. 146 Kenya 0.5732 years compare
  3. 147 Cote d'Ivoire 0.568 years compare
  4. 149 Nigeria 0.5087 years compare
  5. 150 Yemen 0.5076 years compare
  6. 151 Angola 0.5014 years compare

See the full ranking of 228 places →

More education data for Lesotho

All data for Lesotho →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Lesotho?
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Lesotho was 0.5666 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in Lesotho?
The highest recorded value was 0.6899 years in 2012.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in Lesotho?
The lowest recorded value was 0.0168 years in 1972.
How does Lesotho rank for school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes?
Lesotho ranks 148th out of 183 countries with data for 2018.
Is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Lesotho?
Over the last ten years it is up 174.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Lesotho data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Lesotho. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 26 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-tertiary-both-sexes-years/lesotho/

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About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years)
Unit
years
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
228 places, 7,799 data points, 1970–2020
Last refreshed

Number of years a person of school entrance age can expect to spend within the specified level of education. For a child of a certain age a, the school life expectancy is calculated as the sum of the age specific enrolment rates for the levels of education specified. The part of the enrolment that is not distributed by age is divided by the school-age population for the level of education they are enrolled in, and multiplied by the duration of that level of education. The result is then added to the sum of the age-specific enrolment rates. A relatively high SLE indicates greater probability for children to spend more years in education and higher overall retention within the education system. It must be noted that the expected number of years does not necessarily coincide with the expected number of grades of education completed, because of repetition. Since school life expectancy is an average based on participation in different levels of education, the expected number of years of schooling may be pulled down by the magnitude of children who never go to school. Those children who are in school may benefit from many more years of education than the average.