Completion rate, upper secondary education, both … modelled data both in Malaysia
Malaysia: Completion rate, upper secondary education, both … modelled data both was 63.3% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
63.3%
Change on year
up 1.8%
World rank
85th
of 164 countries
All-time high
63.3%
in 2025
All-time low
10.9%
in 1981
Years of data
45
1981–2025
Completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes (modelled data) in Malaysia, 1981–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes (modelled data) in Malaysia stood at 63.3%. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.8% on the previous year and up 27.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes (modelled data) in Malaysia peaked at 63.3% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 10.9%, in 1981.
Malaysia ranks 85th of 164 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Completion rate, upper secondary education, both … modelled data both in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 10.9% | — |
| 1982 | 11.6% | +6.1% |
| 1983 | 12.3% | +6.8% |
| 1984 | 13.2% | +6.8% |
| 1985 | 14.0% | +6.5% |
| 1986 | 14.7% | +4.9% |
| 1987 | 15.3% | +4.1% |
| 1988 | 15.7% | +2.3% |
| 1989 | 15.9% | +1.3% |
| 1990 | 16.1% | +0.9% |
| 1991 | 16.5% | +2.6% |
| 1992 | 17.0% | +3.0% |
| 1993 | 17.5% | +3.1% |
| 1994 | 17.9% | +2.4% |
| 1995 | 18.4% | +2.8% |
| 1996 | 19.3% | +4.7% |
| 1997 | 20.8% | +7.7% |
| 1998 | 22.8% | +10.0% |
| 1999 | 25.4% | +11.4% |
| 2000 | 28.2% | +10.7% |
| 2001 | 30.6% | +8.7% |
| 2002 | 32.5% | +6.2% |
| 2003 | 34.0% | +4.3% |
| 2004 | 35.3% | +4.0% |
| 2005 | 36.6% | +3.6% |
| 2006 | 37.9% | +3.5% |
| 2007 | 39.1% | +3.2% |
| 2008 | 40.4% | +3.4% |
| 2009 | 41.9% | +3.7% |
| 2010 | 43.2% | +3.0% |
| 2011 | 44.5% | +3.2% |
| 2012 | 46.0% | +3.3% |
| 2013 | 47.0% | +2.3% |
| 2014 | 48.3% | +2.7% |
| 2015 | 49.6% | +2.6% |
| 2016 | 51.1% | +3.1% |
| 2017 | 52.4% | +2.6% |
| 2018 | 53.9% | +2.8% |
| 2019 | 55.3% | +2.6% |
| 2020 | 56.8% | +2.8% |
| 2021 | 58.1% | +2.2% |
| 2022 | 59.5% | +2.4% |
| 2023 | 60.8% | +2.3% |
| 2024 | 62.1% | +2.2% |
| 2025 | 63.3% | +1.8% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 63.3% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 72.5%, 87% of the median. (50 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 63.3% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 59.0%, 1.1× the median. (21 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 13.7% | 10.9% | 15.9% | 9 |
| 1990s | 19.2% | 16.1% | 25.4% | 10 |
| 2000s | 35.6% | 28.2% | 41.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 49.1% | 43.2% | 55.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 60.1% | 56.8% | 63.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More education data for Malaysia
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 88.9 (2024)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 88.03 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 217,105 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 0 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 475,967 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 460,041 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 2.64 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 3.06 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.2 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes (modelled data) in Malaysia?
- Completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes (modelled data) in Malaysia was 63.3% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes (modelled data) recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 63.3% in 2025.
- What is the lowest completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes (modelled data) recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.9% in 1981.
- How does Malaysia rank for completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes (modelled data)?
- Malaysia ranks 85th out of 164 countries with data for 2025.
- Is completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes (modelled data) rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 27.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Completion rate, upper secondary education, both sexes (modelled data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release