Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Malaysia
Malaysia: Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and was 1.27 million in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
1.27 million
Change on year
up 7.8%
World rank
31st
of 178 countries
All-time high
1.56 million
in 2020
All-time low
694,930
in 2004
Years of data
26
1998–2024
Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Malaysia, 1998–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Malaysia stood at 1.27 million.
That represents a change of up 7.8% on the previous year and up 11.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Malaysia peaked at 1.56 million in 2020 and was at its lowest, 694,930, in 2004.
Malaysia ranks 31st of 178 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 748,945 | — |
| 1999 | 787,559 | +5.2% |
| 2000 | 817,228 | +3.8% |
| 2001 | 827,210 | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 962,931 | +16.4% |
| 2003 | 787,709 | -18.2% |
| 2004 | 694,930 | -11.8% |
| 2005 | 831,963 | +19.7% |
| 2006 | 935,613 | +12.5% |
| 2007 | 1.02 million | +8.7% |
| 2008 | 986,473 | -3.0% |
| 2009 | 940,318 | -4.7% |
| 2010 | 927,745 | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 960,453 | +3.5% |
| 2012 | 903,232 | -6.0% |
| 2013 | 1.00 million | +10.9% |
| 2014 | 1.14 million | +14.2% |
| 2016 | 1.30 million | +13.2% |
| 2017 | 1.33 million | +2.9% |
| 2018 | 1.44 million | +7.9% |
| 2019 | 1.46 million | +1.6% |
| 2020 | 1.56 million | +6.8% |
| 2021 | 1.52 million | -2.8% |
| 2022 | 1.34 million | -11.4% |
| 2023 | 1.18 million | -12.1% |
| 2024 | 1.27 million | +7.8% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 1.27 million is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 71,516, 17.8× the median. (52 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 1.27 million is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 28,899, 44.1× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 768,252 | 748,945 | 787,559 | 2 |
| 2000s | 880,150 | 694,930 | 1.02 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.16 million | 903,232 | 1.46 million | 9 |
| 2020s | 1.37 million | 1.18 million | 1.56 million | 5 |
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 out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Malaysia?
- Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and in Malaysia was 1.27 million in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 1.56 million in 2020.
- What is the lowest out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 694,930 in 2004.
- How does Malaysia rank for out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and?
- Malaysia ranks 31st out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.2%. 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 Out-of-school children, adolescents and youth of primary and secondary school age, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release