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 29.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
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 29.1%.
That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and down 6.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper in Malaysia peaked at 38.2% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 22.7%, in 2004.
That places Malaysia 44th out of 175 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 | 26.9% | — |
| 1999 | 28.0% | +4.2% |
| 2000 | 29.0% | +3.4% |
| 2001 | 25.3% | -12.6% |
| 2002 | 28.1% | +11.1% |
| 2003 | 23.8% | -15.5% |
| 2004 | 22.7% | -4.6% |
| 2005 | 26.0% | +14.7% |
| 2006 | 27.0% | +3.7% |
| 2007 | 29.0% | +7.5% |
| 2008 | 28.1% | -3.0% |
| 2009 | 27.1% | -3.6% |
| 2010 | 26.3% | -2.9% |
| 2011 | 27.3% | +3.9% |
| 2012 | 25.5% | -6.8% |
| 2013 | 28.1% | +10.5% |
| 2014 | 31.0% | +10.3% |
| 2016 | 34.7% | +11.8% |
| 2017 | 35.2% | +1.6% |
| 2018 | 38.2% | +8.4% |
| 2019 | 35.8% | -6.2% |
| 2020 | 37.2% | +3.8% |
| 2021 | 35.8% | -3.8% |
| 2022 | 30.9% | -13.7% |
| 2023 | 29.2% | -5.4% |
| 2024 | 29.1% | -0.6% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 29.1% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 14.9%, 1.9× the median. (51 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 29.1% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 14.2%, 2.0× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 27.5% | 26.9% | 28.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 26.6% | 22.7% | 29.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 31.4% | 25.5% | 38.2% | 9 |
| 2020s | 32.4% | 29.1% | 37.2% | 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 29.1% 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 38.2% 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 22.7% in 2004.
- How does Malaysia rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents and youth of lower and upper?
- Malaysia ranks 44th out of 175 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 6.3%. 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, male (%). 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