Share of primary-school-age children who are out of school vs. GDP per capita in Lesotho
Lesotho: Share of primary-school-age children who are out of school vs. GDP per capita was 32.2% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of primary-school-age children who are out of school vs. GDP per capita in Lesotho, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of primary-school-age children who are out of school vs. gdp per capita in Lesotho stood at 32.2%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 4.8% on the previous year and up 101.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of primary-school-age children who are out of school vs. gdp per capita in Lesotho peaked at 46.0% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 14.0%, in 2006.
Lesotho ranks 16th of 203 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 53 years of available data.
Share of primary-school-age children who are out of school vs. GDP per capita in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 39.2% | — |
| 1971 | 43.2% | +10.2% |
| 1972 | 42.4% | -1.8% |
| 1973 | 41.7% | -1.5% |
| 1974 | 33.4% | -20.0% |
| 1976 | 32.1% | -4.0% |
| 1977 | 30.6% | -4.6% |
| 1978 | 37.0% | +21.0% |
| 1979 | 35.8% | -3.3% |
| 1980 | 35.8% | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 35.9% | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 32.3% | -10.3% |
| 1983 | 33.5% | +4.0% |
| 1984 | 33.5% | -0.1% |
| 1985 | 32.2% | -3.8% |
| 1986 | 33.3% | +3.3% |
| 1987 | 29.7% | -10.8% |
| 1988 | 29.3% | -1.3% |
| 1989 | 30.7% | +4.8% |
| 1990 | 32.5% | +5.7% |
| 1991 | 31.8% | -2.0% |
| 1992 | 32.2% | +1.3% |
| 1993 | 35.1% | +8.9% |
| 1994 | 35.0% | -0.3% |
| 1995 | 36.9% | +5.3% |
| 1996 | 37.0% | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 43.6% | +17.7% |
| 1999 | 46.0% | +5.6% |
| 2000 | 25.5% | -44.6% |
| 2001 | 23.2% | -9.0% |
| 2002 | 20.4% | -11.9% |
| 2003 | 18.0% | -12.0% |
| 2004 | 18.2% | +1.4% |
| 2005 | 16.7% | -8.5% |
| 2006 | 14.0% | -16.0% |
| 2007 | 16.0% | +14.0% |
| 2008 | 15.2% | -4.8% |
| 2009 | 15.9% | +4.5% |
| 2010 | 15.2% | -4.3% |
| 2011 | 14.9% | -2.1% |
| 2012 | 14.8% | -0.7% |
| 2013 | 14.6% | -1.4% |
| 2014 | 15.9% | +9.5% |
| 2015 | 16.7% | +4.5% |
| 2016 | 16.2% | -3.1% |
| 2017 | 14.8% | -8.3% |
| 2018 | 20.2% | +36.4% |
| 2019 | 22.9% | +13.1% |
| 2020 | 24.3% | +6.4% |
| 2021 | 30.3% | +24.8% |
| 2022 | 29.4% | -3.1% |
| 2023 | 30.7% | +4.5% |
| 2024 | 32.2% | +4.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 37.3% | 30.6% | 43.2% | 9 |
| 1980s | 32.6% | 29.3% | 35.9% | 10 |
| 1990s | 36.7% | 31.8% | 46.0% | 9 |
| 2000s | 18.3% | 14.0% | 25.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 16.6% | 14.6% | 22.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 29.4% | 24.3% | 32.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
- 13 Burkina Faso 34.3% compare
- 14 Mali 34.0% compare
- 15 Kenya 32.9% compare
- 17 Yemen 30.6% compare
- 18 Guinea-Bissau 30.5% compare
- 19 Solomon Islands 30.1% compare
More education data for Lesotho
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) -4.37 % change on previous year (2018)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 7,735 (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 2,653 (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 13,054 (2018)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) -5.95 % change on previous year (2018)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 8,532 (2018)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) -1.84 % change on previous year (2018)
- Theoretical duration of primary education (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of primary-school-age children who are out of school vs. gdp per capita in Lesotho?
- Share of primary-school-age children who are out of school vs. gdp per capita in Lesotho was 32.2% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of primary-school-age children who are out of school vs. gdp per capita recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 46.0% in 1999.
- What is the lowest share of primary-school-age children who are out of school vs. gdp per capita recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 14.0% in 2006.
- How does Lesotho rank for share of primary-school-age children who are out of school vs. gdp per capita?
- Lesotho ranks 16th out of 203 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of primary-school-age children who are out of school vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 101.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of primary-school-age children who are out of school vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) not enrolled in any level of education, expressed as a percentage of all children in that age group.