Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Lesotho
Lesotho: Government spending on education overall vs. primary education was 6.6% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Lesotho, 1971–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
In 2024, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Lesotho stood at 6.6%.
That represents a change of down 9.2% on the previous year and down 13.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Lesotho peaked at 13.2% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 4.2%, in 1974.
That places Lesotho 19th out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 4.6% | — |
| 1972 | 4.5% | -2.5% |
| 1973 | 4.9% | +7.5% |
| 1974 | 4.2% | -13.0% |
| 1983 | 10.1% | +138.5% |
| 1984 | 6.4% | -36.3% |
| 1985 | 7.1% | +10.3% |
| 1988 | 7.2% | +1.8% |
| 1989 | 6.2% | -14.1% |
| 1993 | 8.6% | +38.3% |
| 1994 | 7.0% | -18.1% |
| 1995 | 8.6% | +23.0% |
| 1997 | 11.4% | +31.5% |
| 1999 | 12.5% | +10.0% |
| 2000 | 10.1% | -19.3% |
| 2001 | 9.4% | -7.2% |
| 2002 | 10.1% | +7.9% |
| 2003 | 13.2% | +30.9% |
| 2004 | 11.1% | -16.0% |
| 2005 | 12.1% | +8.7% |
| 2006 | 11.3% | -6.7% |
| 2008 | 12.3% | +9.4% |
| 2015 | 7.6% | -38.0% |
| 2016 | 7.6% | -1.2% |
| 2017 | 8.2% | +8.0% |
| 2018 | 7.3% | -10.7% |
| 2023 | 7.3% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 6.6% | -9.2% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 6.6% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 4.0%, 1.6× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 6.6% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.2%, 2.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government spending on education overall vs. primary education 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | +138.5% | 4.2% | 10.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.6% | 4.2% | 4.9% | 4 |
| 1980s | 7.4% | 6.2% | 10.1% | 5 |
| 1990s | 9.6% | 7.0% | 12.5% | 5 |
| 2000s | 11.2% | 9.4% | 13.2% | 8 |
| 2010s | 7.7% | 7.3% | 8.2% | 4 |
| 2020s | 7.0% | 6.6% | 7.3% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More reference data data for Lesotho
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.0331 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 0.5388 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 0.582 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0101 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 0.582 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.111 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.1115 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 2.48 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 2.77 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.0549 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Lesotho?
- Government spending on education overall vs. primary education in Lesotho was 6.6% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 13.2% in 2003.
- What is the lowest government spending on education overall vs. primary education recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.2% in 1974.
- How does Lesotho rank for government spending on education overall vs. primary education?
- Lesotho ranks 19th out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is government spending on education overall vs. primary education rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 13.3%. 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 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Government spending on education overall vs. primary education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Total annual general government spending on all levels of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP.