Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Malaysia
Malaysia: Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP was 0.6% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Malaysia, 1971–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Malaysia stood at 0.6%.
That represents a change of down 10.1% on the previous year and down 66.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Malaysia peaked at 2.6% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 1971.
Malaysia ranks 116th of 173 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 0.5% | — |
| 1979 | 0.7% | +37.6% |
| 1980 | 0.8% | +19.4% |
| 1981 | 1.0% | +23.2% |
| 1982 | 1.1% | +7.7% |
| 1984 | 0.9% | -16.3% |
| 1985 | 1.1% | +16.8% |
| 1986 | 1.3% | +19.2% |
| 1987 | 1.1% | -16.0% |
| 1992 | 1.1% | -0.3% |
| 1993 | 0.8% | -23.6% |
| 1994 | 0.9% | +1.9% |
| 1995 | 0.9% | +1.9% |
| 1996 | 1.2% | +34.7% |
| 1997 | 1.3% | +14.6% |
| 2000 | 1.9% | +42.7% |
| 2001 | 2.6% | +33.9% |
| 2002 | 2.6% | -0.5% |
| 2003 | 2.6% | +2.9% |
| 2004 | 2.0% | -24.5% |
| 2006 | 1.6% | -18.2% |
| 2007 | 1.4% | -10.9% |
| 2009 | 2.1% | +48.7% |
| 2010 | 1.7% | -20.3% |
| 2011 | 2.1% | +24.5% |
| 2012 | 1.6% | -23.3% |
| 2013 | 1.7% | +2.3% |
| 2016 | 1.1% | -33.5% |
| 2017 | 1.0% | -11.7% |
| 2018 | 1.0% | -2.6% |
| 2019 | 0.9% | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 0.6% | -36.7% |
| 2022 | 0.6% | +5.5% |
| 2023 | 0.6% | -10.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.7% | 2 |
| 1980s | 1.1% | 0.8% | 1.3% | 7 |
| 1990s | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.3% | 6 |
| 2000s | 2.1% | 1.4% | 2.6% | 8 |
| 2010s | 1.4% | 0.9% | 2.1% | 8 |
| 2020s | 0.6% | 0.6% | 0.6% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
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 government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Malaysia?
- Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Malaysia was 0.6% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.6% in 2003.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 1971.
- How does Malaysia rank for government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp?
- Malaysia ranks 116th out of 173 countries with data for 2023.
- Is government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 66.1%. 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 Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release