Years of schooling in Lesotho
Lesotho: Years of schooling was 7.73 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
7.73
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
129th
of 192 countries
All-time high
7.73
in 2021
All-time low
4.11
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023
Years of schooling in Lesotho, 1990–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Lesotho recorded 7.73 for years of schooling in 2023. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of up 21.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, years of schooling in Lesotho peaked at 7.73 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 4.11, in 1990.
That places Lesotho 129th out of 192 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Years of schooling in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 4.11 | — |
| 1991 | 4.2 | +2.0% |
| 1992 | 4.28 | +2.0% |
| 1993 | 4.36 | +1.9% |
| 1994 | 4.44 | +1.9% |
| 1995 | 4.53 | +1.9% |
| 1996 | 4.62 | +2.1% |
| 1997 | 4.72 | +2.1% |
| 1998 | 4.81 | +2.0% |
| 1999 | 4.91 | +2.0% |
| 2000 | 5 | +1.9% |
| 2001 | 5.21 | +4.2% |
| 2002 | 5.42 | +4.0% |
| 2003 | 5.63 | +3.8% |
| 2004 | 5.84 | +3.7% |
| 2005 | 6.05 | +3.6% |
| 2006 | 5.83 | -3.6% |
| 2007 | 5.68 | -2.5% |
| 2008 | 5.54 | -2.6% |
| 2009 | 5.7 | +3.0% |
| 2010 | 5.87 | +2.9% |
| 2011 | 6.03 | +2.8% |
| 2012 | 6.2 | +2.7% |
| 2013 | 6.36 | +2.7% |
| 2014 | 6.53 | +2.6% |
| 2015 | 6.69 | +2.5% |
| 2016 | 6.86 | +2.5% |
| 2017 | 7.02 | +2.4% |
| 2018 | 7.19 | +2.3% |
| 2019 | 7.36 | +2.5% |
| 2020 | 7.54 | +2.5% |
| 2021 | 7.73 | +2.5% |
| 2022 | 7.73 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 7.73 | +0.0% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 7.73 is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 6.79, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 7.73 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 5.96, 1.3× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 4.5 | 4.11 | 4.91 | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.59 | 5 | 6.05 | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.61 | 5.87 | 7.36 | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.68 | 7.54 | 7.73 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More education data for Lesotho
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 68.25 (2024)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 67.83 (2024)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is years of schooling in Lesotho?
- Years of schooling in Lesotho was 7.73 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest years of schooling recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 7.73 in 2021.
- What is the lowest years of schooling recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.11 in 1990.
- How does Lesotho rank for years of schooling?
- Lesotho ranks 129th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is years of schooling rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 21.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Years of schooling. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).