Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Lesotho
Lesotho: Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) was 38.1% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Lesotho, 2005–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Lesotho is 38.1%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 21 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 9.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Lesotho peaked at 38.1% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 34.7%, in 2012.
That places Lesotho 11th out of 187 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Lesotho, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 35.1% | — |
| 2006 | 35.2% | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 35.3% | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 35.2% | -0.1% |
| 2009 | 35.3% | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 35.2% | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 35.1% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 34.7% | -0.9% |
| 2013 | 34.8% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 34.8% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 34.9% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 34.8% | -0.3% |
| 2017 | 35.0% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 35.0% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 35.2% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 36.4% | +3.6% |
| 2021 | 36.7% | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 36.8% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 37.3% | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 38.0% | +1.9% |
| 2025 | 38.1% | +0.3% |
Lesotho compared with similar countries
- Lesotho's 38.1% is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 24.5%, 1.6× the median. (46 countries reporting)
- Lesotho's 38.1% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 27.2%, 1.4× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 35.2% | 35.1% | 35.3% | 5 |
| 2010s | 35.0% | 34.7% | 35.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 37.2% | 36.4% | 38.1% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Lesotho
More work & labour data for Lesotho
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.1902 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.1964 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.1849 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -0.293 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 2.37 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 1,485 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 1,719 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 1,674 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 1,586 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 3,259 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Lesotho?
- Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Lesotho was 38.1% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) recorded in Lesotho?
- The highest recorded value was 38.1% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) recorded in Lesotho?
- The lowest recorded value was 34.7% in 2012.
- How does Lesotho rank for share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of)?
- Lesotho ranks 11th out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) rising or falling in Lesotho?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Lesotho data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of youth population) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
The share of youth not in education, employment or training (also known as “the NEET rate”) conveys the number of young persons not in education, employment or training as a percentage of the total youth population. Youth not in education are those who were neither enrolled in school nor in a formal training program (e.g. vocational training). For the purposes of this indicator, youth is defined as all persons between the ages of 15 and 24 (inclusive).