Lesotho: Persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort)

Key figures

Since 1972 it is up 28.07 percentage points from 51.64% in 1972. The World Bank has no value for 6 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 17.22 percentage points in 1993 and the biggest yearly fall was 13.44 percentage points in 1974. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2022, Lesotho had the 13th highest value of the 16 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Lesotho in the 2022 ranking

• South Africa — 9th of 16: 96.38%
• Lebanon — 10th of 16: 93.85%
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 11th of 16: 93.58%
• Jamaica — 13th of 16: 79.07%
• St. Lucia — 14th of 16: 72.63%
• Panama — 15th of 16: 72.16%

What this measures

Persistence to grade 5 (percentage of cohort reaching grade 5) is the share of children enrolled in the first grade of primary school who eventually reach grade 5. The estimate is based on the reconstructed cohort method.

Limitations: The estimates have limitations in capturing real trend in that an observed rate will be applied to the underlying indicators such as repetition rate and promotion rate throughout the cohort life, and re-entrants, grade skipping, migration or transfers during a school year are not adequately captured.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 45 values

Persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort) in nearby economies

• Benin — 62.21% (2021)
• Burkina Faso — 39.43% (2022)
• Burundi — 56.27% (2019)
• Cabo Verde — 95.21% (2021)
• Cameroon — 73.75% (2023)
• Chad — 76.87% (2017)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 75.98% (2020)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 66.3% (2021)
• Eritrea — 80.15% (2017)
• Eswatini — 96.61% (2018)

More education data for Lesotho

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 7 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 13 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 5 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 309,480 (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 80.18% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 78.6% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 81.75% (2024)
• Primary education, teachers — 10,388 (2024)
• Primary education, teachers (% female) — 74.46% (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Lesotho's persistence to grade 5, male (% of cohort)?

79.7% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1972?

It is up 28.07 percentage points from 51.64% in 1972. The highest value was 79.7% in 2022 and the lowest 35.94% in 1976.

How does Lesotho rank?

13th highest of 16 economies with data for 2022.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API..

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.PRM.PRS5.MA.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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