Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Malaysia
Malaysia: Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary was 20.8% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Malaysia, 1998–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Malaysia stood at 20.8%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 5.6% on the previous year and up 5.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Malaysia peaked at 25.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 13.9%, in 2004.
That places Malaysia 39th out of 171 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 children, adolescents and youth of primary in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 15.4% | — |
| 1999 | 15.4% | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 16.1% | +4.6% |
| 2001 | 15.3% | -4.6% |
| 2002 | 17.8% | +16.0% |
| 2003 | 15.6% | -12.3% |
| 2004 | 13.9% | -11.0% |
| 2005 | 15.1% | +8.8% |
| 2006 | 17.3% | +14.7% |
| 2007 | 17.8% | +2.6% |
| 2008 | 16.9% | -5.0% |
| 2009 | 16.8% | -0.3% |
| 2010 | 16.1% | -4.3% |
| 2011 | 17.1% | +5.8% |
| 2012 | 16.2% | -5.0% |
| 2013 | 17.7% | +9.0% |
| 2014 | 19.8% | +11.9% |
| 2016 | 22.4% | +13.5% |
| 2017 | 22.8% | +1.7% |
| 2018 | 24.3% | +6.4% |
| 2019 | 24.4% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 25.4% | +4.2% |
| 2021 | 24.8% | -2.4% |
| 2022 | 22.3% | -10.1% |
| 2023 | 19.7% | -11.3% |
| 2024 | 20.8% | +5.6% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 20.8% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 9.3%, 2.2× the median. (51 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 20.8% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 9.5%, 2.2× the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 15.4% | 15.4% | 15.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 16.3% | 13.9% | 17.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.1% | 16.1% | 24.4% | 9 |
| 2020s | 22.6% | 19.7% | 25.4% | 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 children, adolescents and youth of primary in Malaysia?
- Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Malaysia was 20.8% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 25.4% in 2020.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.9% in 2004.
- How does Malaysia rank for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary?
- Malaysia ranks 39th out of 171 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.4%. 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 children, adolescents and youth of primary, lower secondary 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