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Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Malaysia

Malaysia: Government spending on education as a share of GDP was 3.5% in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)
3.5%
Change on year
up 0.4%
World rank
126th
of 199 countries
All-time high
7.7%
in 2002
All-time low
3.5%
in 2022
Years of data
39
1971–2023

Government spending on education as a share of GDP in Malaysia, 1971–2023

024681971199720231971: 4.6 % of GDP1979: 5.1 % of GDP1980: 5.7 % of GDP1981: 6.7 % of GDP1982: 7 % of GDP1984: 5.7 % of GDP1985: 6.1 % of GDP1986: 7.2 % of GDP1987: 6.3 % of GDP1992: 5.1 % of GDP1993: 4.7 % of GDP1994: 4.7 % of GDP1995: 4.3 % of GDP1996: 4.9 % of GDP1997: 4.6 % of GDP1999: 5.7 % of GDP2000: 6 % of GDP2001: 7.5 % of GDP2002: 7.7 % of GDP2003: 7.5 % of GDP2004: 5.9 % of GDP2006: 4.5 % of GDP2007: 4.4 % of GDP2008: 4 % of GDP2009: 6 % of GDP2010: 5 % of GDP2011: 5.8 % of GDP2012: 5.7 % of GDP2013: 5.5 % of GDP2014: 5.2 % of GDP2015: 4.9 % of GDP2016: 4.8 % of GDP2017: 4.7 % of GDP2018: 4.5 % of GDP2019: 4.2 % of GDP2020: 3.9 % of GDP2021: 4.3 % of GDP2022: 3.5 % of GDP2023: 3.5 % of GDP

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in % of GDP.

Analysis

In 2023, government spending on education as a share of gdp in Malaysia stood at 3.5%.

The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and down 35.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government spending on education as a share of gdp in Malaysia peaked at 7.7% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 3.5%, in 2022.

Malaysia ranks 126th of 199 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 39 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 4.8% 4.6% 5.1% 2
1980s 6.4% 5.7% 7.2% 7
1990s 4.9% 4.3% 5.7% 7
2000s 5.9% 4.0% 7.7% 9
2010s 5.0% 4.2% 5.8% 10
2020s 3.8% 3.5% 4.3% 4

Countries ranked near Malaysia

  1. 123 Cote d'Ivoire 3.6% compare
  2. 124 Barbados 3.6% compare
  3. 125 Paraguay 3.5% compare
  4. 127 Macao 3.5% compare
  5. 128 Saint Kitts and Nevis 3.5% compare
  6. 129 Palau 3.4% compare

See the full ranking of 199 places →

More education data for Malaysia

All data for Malaysia →

Frequently asked questions

What is government spending on education as a share of gdp in Malaysia?
Government spending on education as a share of gdp in Malaysia was 3.5% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in Malaysia?
The highest recorded value was 7.7% in 2002.
What is the lowest government spending on education as a share of gdp recorded in Malaysia?
The lowest recorded value was 3.5% in 2022.
How does Malaysia rank for government spending on education as a share of gdp?
Malaysia ranks 126th out of 199 countries with data for 2023.
Is government spending on education as a share of gdp rising or falling in Malaysia?
Over the last ten years it is down 35.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Malaysia data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Government spending on education as a share of GDP. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Government spending on education as a share of GDP
Unit
% of GDP
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
199 places, 5,187 data points, 1870–2025
Last refreshed

Total annual general government spending on all levels of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP.