Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Malaysia
Malaysia: Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age was 19.6% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Malaysia, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Malaysia stood at 19.6%.
The figure is up 2.6% on the previous year and down 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Malaysia peaked at 22.4% in 2018 and was at its lowest, 12.1%, in 2001.
That places Malaysia 54th out of 206 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 12.2% | — |
| 2001 | 12.1% | -0.8% |
| 2002 | 13.0% | +7.4% |
| 2003 | 14.2% | +9.2% |
| 2004 | 14.8% | +4.2% |
| 2005 | 14.5% | -2.0% |
| 2006 | 14.2% | -2.1% |
| 2007 | 13.9% | -2.1% |
| 2008 | 13.7% | -1.4% |
| 2009 | 13.2% | -3.6% |
| 2010 | 13.0% | -1.5% |
| 2011 | 13.8% | +6.2% |
| 2012 | 15.5% | +12.3% |
| 2013 | 17.5% | +12.9% |
| 2014 | 18.9% | +8.0% |
| 2015 | 20.0% | +5.8% |
| 2016 | 21.5% | +7.5% |
| 2017 | 22.3% | +3.7% |
| 2018 | 22.4% | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 21.0% | -6.2% |
| 2020 | 19.4% | -7.6% |
| 2021 | 18.5% | -4.6% |
| 2022 | 18.5% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 18.9% | +2.2% |
| 2024 | 19.1% | +1.1% |
| 2025 | 19.6% | +2.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 13.6% | 12.1% | 14.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 18.6% | 13.0% | 22.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.0% | 18.5% | 19.6% | 6 |
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 of lower secondary school age in Malaysia?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Malaysia was 19.6% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 22.4% in 2018.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.1% in 2001.
- How does Malaysia rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Malaysia ranks 54th out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.0%. 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 of lower secondary school age, male (modelled data) (%). 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