Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Malaysia
Malaysia: Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper was 26.4% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
26.4%
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
44th
of 179 countries
All-time high
34.1%
in 2018
All-time low
17.2%
in 2004
Years of data
26
1998–2024
Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Malaysia, 1998–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Malaysia stood at 26.4%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and down 1.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Malaysia peaked at 34.1% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 17.2%, in 2004.
Malaysia ranks 44th of 179 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 rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 23.0% | — |
| 1999 | 24.6% | +6.7% |
| 2000 | 25.3% | +3.0% |
| 2001 | 22.7% | -10.5% |
| 2002 | 23.9% | +5.6% |
| 2003 | 17.9% | -25.2% |
| 2004 | 17.2% | -3.7% |
| 2005 | 22.2% | +28.8% |
| 2006 | 22.8% | +2.8% |
| 2007 | 25.9% | +13.3% |
| 2008 | 25.0% | -3.2% |
| 2009 | 23.9% | -4.6% |
| 2010 | 22.9% | -3.9% |
| 2011 | 23.5% | +2.3% |
| 2012 | 21.5% | -8.5% |
| 2013 | 24.2% | +12.6% |
| 2014 | 26.8% | +10.9% |
| 2016 | 30.0% | +12.0% |
| 2017 | 31.0% | +3.4% |
| 2018 | 34.1% | +10.1% |
| 2019 | 32.0% | -6.2% |
| 2020 | 34.1% | +6.5% |
| 2021 | 32.9% | -3.6% |
| 2022 | 27.6% | -15.9% |
| 2023 | 26.4% | -4.6% |
| 2024 | 26.4% | +0.1% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 26.4% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 13.6%, 1.9× the median. (52 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 26.4% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 12.8%, 2.1× the median. (30 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 23.8% | 23.0% | 24.6% | 2 |
| 2000s | 22.7% | 17.2% | 25.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.3% | 21.5% | 34.1% | 9 |
| 2020s | 29.5% | 26.4% | 34.1% | 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 rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Malaysia?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Malaysia was 26.4% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 34.1% in 2018.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.2% in 2004.
- How does Malaysia rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper?
- Malaysia ranks 44th out of 179 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.4%. 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 rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper secondary school age, both sexes (%). 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