Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Malaysia
Malaysia: Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary was 701,240 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
701,240
Change on year
up 18.2%
World rank
24th
of 181 countries
All-time high
724,375
in 2020
All-time low
195,377
in 1998
Years of data
30
1970–2024
Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Malaysia, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Malaysia is 701,240, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 18.2% on the previous year and up 48.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Malaysia peaked at 724,375 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 195,377, in 1998.
Malaysia ranks 24th of 181 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.
Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 492,904 | — |
| 1971 | 457,058 | -7.3% |
| 1972 | 415,918 | -9.0% |
| 1998 | 195,377 | -53.0% |
| 1999 | 229,946 | +17.7% |
| 2000 | 230,918 | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 313,950 | +36.0% |
| 2002 | 425,570 | +35.6% |
| 2003 | 335,129 | -21.3% |
| 2004 | 275,239 | -17.9% |
| 2005 | 322,171 | +17.1% |
| 2006 | 359,899 | +11.7% |
| 2007 | 365,386 | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 346,851 | -5.1% |
| 2009 | 314,936 | -9.2% |
| 2010 | 313,856 | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 330,741 | +5.4% |
| 2012 | 366,564 | +10.8% |
| 2013 | 383,358 | +4.6% |
| 2014 | 471,482 | +23.0% |
| 2015 | 550,890 | +16.8% |
| 2016 | 601,768 | +9.2% |
| 2017 | 622,985 | +3.5% |
| 2018 | 647,761 | +4.0% |
| 2019 | 717,620 | +10.8% |
| 2020 | 724,375 | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 699,711 | -3.4% |
| 2022 | 702,591 | +0.4% |
| 2023 | 593,281 | -15.6% |
| 2024 | 701,240 | +18.2% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 701,240 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 49,205, 14.3× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 701,240 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 6,034, 116.2× the median. (29 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 455,293 | 415,918 | 492,904 | 3 |
| 1990s | 212,662 | 195,377 | 229,946 | 2 |
| 2000s | 329,005 | 230,918 | 425,570 | 10 |
| 2010s | 500,702 | 313,856 | 717,620 | 10 |
| 2020s | 684,240 | 593,281 | 724,375 | 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 and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Malaysia?
- Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Malaysia was 701,240 in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 724,375 in 2020.
- What is the lowest out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 195,377 in 1998.
- How does Malaysia rank for out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary?
- Malaysia ranks 24th out of 181 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 48.7%. 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 and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release