Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both in Malaysia
Malaysia: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both was 69.8% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Malaysia, 1980–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 69.8% for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in 2022. That is the highest value across all 9 years on record.
That represents a change of up 11.5% on the previous year and up 37.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Malaysia peaked at 69.8% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 3.2%, in 1980.
That places Malaysia 56th out of 142 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary … upper both in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 3.2% | — |
| 1996 | 30.4% | +855.0% |
| 2000 | 36.4% | +19.9% |
| 2005 | 27.6% | -24.2% |
| 2009 | 49.4% | +79.0% |
| 2010 | 50.9% | +3.0% |
| 2016 | 58.3% | +14.6% |
| 2019 | 62.6% | +7.3% |
| 2022 | 69.8% | +11.5% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 69.8% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 51.3%, 1.4× the median. (41 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 69.8% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 57.7%, 1.2× the median. (20 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 3.2% | 3.2% | 3.2% | 1 |
| 1990s | 30.4% | 30.4% | 30.4% | 1 |
| 2000s | 37.8% | 27.6% | 49.4% | 3 |
| 2010s | 57.3% | 50.9% | 62.6% | 3 |
| 2020s | 69.8% | 69.8% | 69.8% | 1 |
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 educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Malaysia?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Malaysia was 69.8% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 69.8% in 2022.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.2% in 1980.
- How does Malaysia rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Malaysia ranks 56th out of 142 countries with data for 2022.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 37.1%. 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 Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release