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 17.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
17.2%
Change on year
up 11.6%
World rank
43rd
of 171 countries
All-time high
20.7%
in 2020
All-time low
7.3%
in 2004
Years of data
26
1998–2024
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Malaysia, 1998–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 17.2% for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 11.6% on the previous year and up 21.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Malaysia peaked at 20.7% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 7.3%, in 2004.
Malaysia ranks 43rd of 171 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 children, adolescents and youth of primary in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 10.6% | — |
| 1999 | 11.4% | +7.6% |
| 2000 | 11.0% | -3.2% |
| 2001 | 11.4% | +3.5% |
| 2002 | 12.6% | +10.0% |
| 2003 | 8.7% | -30.8% |
| 2004 | 7.3% | -16.6% |
| 2005 | 10.1% | +38.8% |
| 2006 | 10.7% | +6.7% |
| 2007 | 12.7% | +17.8% |
| 2008 | 12.6% | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 11.2% | -11.2% |
| 2010 | 11.6% | +3.6% |
| 2011 | 11.5% | -0.1% |
| 2012 | 10.6% | -8.2% |
| 2013 | 12.0% | +13.7% |
| 2014 | 14.2% | +17.8% |
| 2016 | 16.0% | +13.1% |
| 2017 | 16.8% | +4.5% |
| 2018 | 18.5% | +10.2% |
| 2019 | 19.0% | +2.6% |
| 2020 | 20.7% | +9.1% |
| 2021 | 20.2% | -2.5% |
| 2022 | 17.6% | -12.8% |
| 2023 | 15.4% | -12.4% |
| 2024 | 17.2% | +11.6% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 17.2% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 7.5%, 2.3× the median. (51 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 17.2% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 7.6%, 2.3× the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 11.0% | 10.6% | 11.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 10.8% | 7.3% | 12.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.5% | 10.6% | 19.0% | 9 |
| 2020s | 18.2% | 15.4% | 20.7% | 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 17.2% 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 20.7% 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 7.3% in 2004.
- How does Malaysia rank for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary?
- Malaysia ranks 43rd 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 21.3%. 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 children, adolescents and youth of primary, lower secondary and upper secondary school age, female (%). 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