Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Lesotho

Lesotho: Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 9.0% in 2016. ▼ Falling

Latest (2016)
9.0%
Change on year
down 8.8%
World rank
45th
of 149 countries
All-time high
42.3%
in 1971
All-time low
9.0%
in 2016
Years of data
36
1971–2016

Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Lesotho, 1971–2016

102030401971199320161971: 42.3 %1973: 40.3 %1977: 36.3 %1978: 37.2 %1979: 36.8 %1980: 37.4 %1981: 36.8 %1982: 33.6 %1983: 33.2 %1984: 34.4 %1985: 31.8 %1986: 33 %1991: 31.8 %1992: 31.7 %1993: 34 %1994: 33 %1996: 33.3 %1998: 38.7 %1999: 39.7 %2000: 26.1 %2001: 23.5 %2002: 21 %2003: 17.5 %2004: 16.8 %2005: 14.3 %2006: 12.5 %2007: 14.5 %2008: 12.9 %2009: 12 %2010: 10 %2011: 9.6 %2012: 9.7 %2013: 9.2 %2014: 9.9 %2015: 9.9 %2016: 9 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2016, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Lesotho stood at 9.0%. That is the lowest value across all 36 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 8.8% on the previous year and down 28.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Lesotho peaked at 42.3% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 9.0%, in 2016.

Lesotho ranks 45th of 149 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 36 years of available data.

Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Lesotho, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, both sexes (%) in Lesotho, 1971 to 2016.
Year % Change
1971 42.3%
1973 40.3% -4.9%
1977 36.3% -10.0%
1978 37.2% +2.7%
1979 36.8% -1.2%
1980 37.4% +1.6%
1981 36.8% -1.7%
1982 33.6% -8.5%
1983 33.2% -1.2%
1984 34.4% +3.4%
1985 31.8% -7.3%
1986 33.0% +3.6%
1991 31.8% -3.6%
1992 31.7% -0.4%
1993 34.0% +7.5%
1994 33.0% -3.1%
1996 33.3% +0.9%
1998 38.7% +16.4%
1999 39.7% +2.6%
2000 26.1% -34.3%
2001 23.5% -9.8%
2002 21.0% -10.8%
2003 17.5% -16.5%
2004 16.8% -4.2%
2005 14.3% -15.0%
2006 12.5% -12.4%
2007 14.5% +16.2%
2008 12.9% -11.1%
2009 12.0% -6.9%
2010 10.0% -16.8%
2011 9.6% -4.3%
2012 9.7% +1.6%
2013 9.2% -5.7%
2014 9.9% +8.4%
2015 9.9% -0.8%
2016 9.0% -8.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 38.6% 36.3% 42.3% 5
1980s 34.3% 31.8% 37.4% 7
1990s 34.6% 31.7% 39.7% 7
2000s 17.1% 12.0% 26.1% 10
2010s 9.6% 9.0% 10.0% 7

Countries ranked near Lesotho

  1. 42 Bhutan 9.6% compare
  2. 43 Indonesia 9.2% compare
  3. 44 Botswana 9.2% compare
  4. 46 Kenya 9.0% compare
  5. 47 Cape Verde 8.8% compare
  6. 48 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 8.4% compare

See the full ranking of 192 places →

More reference data data for Lesotho

All data for Lesotho →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Lesotho?
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Lesotho was 9.0% in 2016, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Lesotho?
The highest recorded value was 42.3% in 1971.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Lesotho?
The lowest recorded value was 9.0% in 2016.
How does Lesotho rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
Lesotho ranks 45th out of 149 countries with data for 2016.
Is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower rising or falling in Lesotho?
Over the last ten years it is down 28.1%. 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, published as part of Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 36 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Lesotho. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 09 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-children-and-adolescents-of-primary-and-lower-secondary-school-age/lesotho/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-children-and-adolescents-of-primary-and-lower-secondary-school-age/lesotho/">Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Lesotho</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
192 places, 4,615 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Proportion of children and adolescents in the official age range for primary and lower secondary education who are not enrolled in primary or lower secondary education. To calculate the indicator, the number of students of the official age for primary and lower secondary education enrolled in primary or lower secondary education is subtracted from the total population of primary and lower secondary education. The result is expressed as a percentage of the population of the official age for primary and lower secondary education. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/