Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) in Lesotho
Lesotho: Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) was 67.0% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Primary completion rate, total in Lesotho, 1971–2023
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % of relevant age group.
Analysis
The most recent figure for primary completion rate, total in Lesotho is 67.0%, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 5.1% on the previous year and down 18.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary completion rate, total in Lesotho peaked at 92.3% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 32.2%, in 1971.
Lesotho ranks 165th of 189 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 52 years of available data.
Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | % of relevant age group | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 32.2% | — |
| 1972 | 35.5% | +10.2% |
| 1973 | 39.3% | +10.8% |
| 1974 | 48.6% | +23.7% |
| 1975 | 51.7% | +6.3% |
| 1976 | 48.9% | -5.4% |
| 1977 | 45.2% | -7.6% |
| 1978 | 45.7% | +1.2% |
| 1979 | 46.7% | +2.1% |
| 1980 | 46.7% | +0.2% |
| 1981 | 48.0% | +2.6% |
| 1982 | 48.5% | +1.1% |
| 1983 | 49.6% | +2.4% |
| 1984 | 50.0% | +0.8% |
| 1985 | 49.8% | -0.5% |
| 1986 | 49.3% | -0.9% |
| 1987 | 53.3% | +8.0% |
| 1988 | 55.2% | +3.7% |
| 1989 | 54.9% | -0.5% |
| 1990 | 56.8% | +3.4% |
| 1991 | 56.7% | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 58.5% | +3.2% |
| 1993 | 58.0% | -0.9% |
| 1994 | 59.8% | +3.2% |
| 1995 | 62.8% | +4.9% |
| 1996 | 59.7% | -4.9% |
| 1997 | 58.5% | -2.0% |
| 1998 | 58.6% | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 57.4% | -1.9% |
| 2000 | 55.0% | -4.2% |
| 2001 | 57.8% | +5.1% |
| 2002 | 60.2% | +4.2% |
| 2003 | 63.7% | +5.8% |
| 2004 | 67.4% | +5.8% |
| 2005 | 64.4% | -4.4% |
| 2006 | 84.9% | +31.9% |
| 2007 | 81.9% | -3.6% |
| 2008 | 79.6% | -2.8% |
| 2009 | 79.2% | -0.4% |
| 2010 | 81.2% | +2.5% |
| 2011 | 81.9% | +0.9% |
| 2012 | 81.8% | -0.1% |
| 2013 | 81.8% | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 79.5% | -2.9% |
| 2015 | 76.4% | -3.9% |
| 2016 | 78.6% | +2.9% |
| 2018 | 92.3% | +17.5% |
| 2019 | 80.4% | -12.9% |
| 2020 | 73.8% | -8.2% |
| 2021 | 78.7% | +6.7% |
| 2022 | 70.6% | -10.3% |
| 2023 | 67.0% | -5.1% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 67.0% is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 85.6%, 78% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 67.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 70.7%, 95% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | +31.9% | 64.4% | 84.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 43.7% | 32.2% | 51.7% | 9 |
| 1980s | 50.5% | 46.7% | 55.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 58.7% | 56.7% | 62.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 69.4% | 55.0% | 84.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 81.5% | 76.4% | 92.3% | 9 |
| 2020s | 72.5% | 67.0% | 78.7% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More aid effectiveness data for Lesotho
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Austria 165,126 current US$ (2023)
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Belgium 2,757 current US$ (2023)
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Canada 248,362 current US$ (2023)
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, European Union institutions 18.04 million current US$ (2023)
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Switzerland 366,447 current US$ (2023)
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Germany 1.01 million current US$ (2023)
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, France 182,545 current US$ (2023)
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, United Kingdom 92,808 current US$ (2023)
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Italy 48,659 current US$ (2023)
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Japan 2.49 million current US$ (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary completion rate, total in Lesotho?
- Primary completion rate, total in Lesotho was 67.0% in 2023, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest primary completion rate, total recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 92.3% in 2018.
- What is the lowest primary completion rate, total recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 32.2% in 1971.
- How does Lesotho rank for primary completion rate, total?
- Lesotho ranks 165th out of 189 countries with data for 2023.
- Is primary completion rate, total rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Primary completion rate, or gross intake ratio to the last grade of primary education, is the number of new entrants (enrollments minus repeaters) in the last grade of primary education, regardless of age, divided by the population at the entrance age for the last grade of primary education. Data limitations preclude adjusting for students who drop out during the final year of primary education.