AD1033: Unemployment tops youth concerns in Lesotho – Afrobarometer

Lesotho is predominantly young, with 18- to 35-year-olds making up nearly 40% of citizens and about 60% of the working-age population (United Nations Development Programme, 2014; World Bank, 2021a). This youth bulge presents both a demographic opportunity and a socioeconomic challenge.

In an economy characterised by slow growth despite expansions in the services and manufacturing sectors (African Development Bank, 2025), youth face one of the highest unemployment rates globally (30.5%) (United Nations Development Programme, 2015; World Bank, 2021a). The World Bank (2021b) reported that 44% of 20- to 35-year-olds and 29% of 15- to 19-year-olds in Lesotho are not in education, employment, or training (NEET). This widespread exclusion from economic activity threatens the country’s development trajectory and weakens its human capital base.

In response, the government of Lesotho, supported by the United Nations, launched an Initiative for Youth Empowerment aimed at promoting youth entrepreneurship in key sectors, including agriculture, science, technology, tourism, and the creative economy, formally known as SEBABATSO (United Nations, 2023). The initiative seeks to reduce youth unemployment by supporting innovative youth-led businesses and attracting local and international investment in youth enterprises.

This dispatch reports on a survey module included in the Afrobarometer Round 10 questionnaire to explore the experiences and perspectives of Basotho youth on key issues affecting their lives.

Findings show that while youth have more education than their elders, they are also more likely to be unemployed. In their view, key obstacles to employment include a lack of work experience, limited interest in certain types of jobs, and inadequate training. Most see the government as failing on the issue of job creation, which they consider the most important problem facing their country.

Most young Basotho see the country as heading “in the wrong direction,” and large majorities rate the economy and their personal living conditions as poor. Although a majority are optimistic that things will improve in the near future, more than half say they have considered emigrating, mostly in search of better job opportunities.