Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling in Malaysia
Malaysia: Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling was 1.54 live births per woman in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
1.54 live births per woman
Change on year
down 0.5%
World rank
159th
of 236 countries
All-time high
6.47 live births per woman
in 1957
All-time low
1.54 live births per woman
in 2024
Years of data
75
1950–2024
Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling in Malaysia, 1950–2024
Source: Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in live births per woman.
Analysis
In 2024, fertility rate vs. average years of schooling in Malaysia stood at 1.54 live births per woman. That is the lowest value across all 75 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.5% on the previous year and down 25.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fertility rate vs. average years of schooling in Malaysia peaked at 6.47 live births per woman in 1957 and was at its lowest, 1.54 live births per woman, in 2024.
Malaysia ranks 159th of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 75 years of available data.
Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | live births per woman | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 6.43 live births per woman | — |
| 1951 | 6.43 live births per woman | -0.0% |
| 1952 | 6.43 live births per woman | -0.0% |
| 1953 | 6.44 live births per woman | +0.2% |
| 1954 | 6.45 live births per woman | +0.2% |
| 1955 | 6.45 live births per woman | +0.1% |
| 1956 | 6.46 live births per woman | +0.1% |
| 1957 | 6.47 live births per woman | +0.1% |
| 1958 | 6.46 live births per woman | -0.2% |
| 1959 | 6.44 live births per woman | -0.2% |
| 1960 | 6.41 live births per woman | -0.5% |
| 1961 | 6.37 live births per woman | -0.7% |
| 1962 | 6.3 live births per woman | -1.1% |
| 1963 | 6.19 live births per woman | -1.7% |
| 1964 | 6.03 live births per woman | -2.6% |
| 1965 | 5.84 live births per woman | -3.2% |
| 1966 | 5.63 live births per woman | -3.4% |
| 1967 | 5.43 live births per woman | -3.6% |
| 1968 | 5.29 live births per woman | -2.6% |
| 1969 | 5.16 live births per woman | -2.5% |
| 1970 | 5.04 live births per woman | -2.4% |
| 1971 | 4.92 live births per woman | -2.2% |
| 1972 | 4.82 live births per woman | -2.1% |
| 1973 | 4.73 live births per woman | -2.0% |
| 1974 | 4.62 live births per woman | -2.3% |
| 1975 | 4.5 live births per woman | -2.6% |
| 1976 | 4.4 live births per woman | -2.3% |
| 1977 | 4.28 live births per woman | -2.6% |
| 1978 | 4.18 live births per woman | -2.4% |
| 1979 | 4.09 live births per woman | -2.1% |
| 1980 | 4.04 live births per woman | -1.4% |
| 1981 | 4 live births per woman | -0.8% |
| 1982 | 3.97 live births per woman | -0.9% |
| 1983 | 3.93 live births per woman | -1.0% |
| 1984 | 3.88 live births per woman | -1.1% |
| 1985 | 3.8 live births per woman | -2.1% |
| 1986 | 3.7 live births per woman | -2.8% |
| 1987 | 3.56 live births per woman | -3.6% |
| 1988 | 3.5 live births per woman | -1.8% |
| 1989 | 3.31 live births per woman | -5.4% |
| 1990 | 3.3 live births per woman | -0.3% |
| 1991 | 3.34 live births per woman | +1.1% |
| 1992 | 3.37 live births per woman | +1.0% |
| 1993 | 3.36 live births per woman | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 3.35 live births per woman | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 3.32 live births per woman | -0.9% |
| 1996 | 3.3 live births per woman | -0.6% |
| 1997 | 3.23 live births per woman | -2.1% |
| 1998 | 3.12 live births per woman | -3.3% |
| 1999 | 3.07 live births per woman | -1.7% |
| 2000 | 2.94 live births per woman | -4.1% |
| 2001 | 2.81 live births per woman | -4.6% |
| 2002 | 2.66 live births per woman | -5.3% |
| 2003 | 2.6 live births per woman | -2.1% |
| 2004 | 2.49 live births per woman | -4.2% |
| 2005 | 2.39 live births per woman | -4.1% |
| 2006 | 2.31 live births per woman | -3.5% |
| 2007 | 2.25 live births per woman | -2.4% |
| 2008 | 2.26 live births per woman | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 2.22 live births per woman | -1.7% |
| 2010 | 2.14 live births per woman | -3.6% |
| 2011 | 2.15 live births per woman | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 2.12 live births per woman | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 2.07 live births per woman | -2.2% |
| 2014 | 2.06 live births per woman | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 2.01 live births per woman | -2.4% |
| 2016 | 1.94 live births per woman | -3.3% |
| 2017 | 1.89 live births per woman | -2.5% |
| 2018 | 1.84 live births per woman | -2.9% |
| 2019 | 1.78 live births per woman | -3.3% |
| 2020 | 1.68 live births per woman | -5.5% |
| 2021 | 1.55 live births per woman | -7.4% |
| 2022 | 1.55 live births per woman | -0.3% |
| 2023 | 1.55 live births per woman | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 1.54 live births per woman | -0.5% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 1.54 live births per woman is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.8 live births per woman, 86% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 1.54 live births per woman is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 2.12 live births per woman, 73% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 6.44 live births per woman | 6.43 live births per woman | 6.47 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1960s | 5.87 live births per woman | 5.16 live births per woman | 6.41 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.56 live births per woman | 4.09 live births per woman | 5.04 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.77 live births per woman | 3.31 live births per woman | 4.04 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.28 live births per woman | 3.07 live births per woman | 3.37 live births per woman | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.49 live births per woman | 2.22 live births per woman | 2.94 live births per woman | 10 |
| 2010s | 2 live births per woman | 1.78 live births per woman | 2.15 live births per woman | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.58 live births per woman | 1.54 live births per woman | 1.68 live births per woman | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
- 156 Maldives 1.56 live births per woman compare
- 157 United Kingdom 1.55 live births per woman compare
- 158 Isle of Man 1.54 live births per woman compare
- 160 Liechtenstein 1.54 live births per woman compare
- 161 Trinidad and Tobago 1.54 live births per woman compare
- 162 Saint Kitts and Nevis 1.53 live births per woman compare
More education data for Malaysia
- 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)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0859 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fertility rate vs. average years of schooling in Malaysia?
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling in Malaysia was 1.54 live births per woman in 2024, according to Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest fertility rate vs. average years of schooling recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 6.47 live births per woman in 1957.
- What is the lowest fertility rate vs. average years of schooling recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.54 live births per woman in 2024.
- How does Malaysia rank for fertility rate vs. average years of schooling?
- Malaysia ranks 159th out of 236 countries with data for 2024.
- Is fertility rate vs. average years of schooling rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 25.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 75 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Average number of live births a hypothetical cohort of women would have at the end of their reproductive period if they were subject during their whole lives to the fertility rates of a given period and if they were not subject to mortality.