Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Malaysia
Malaysia: Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 12.5% in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2024)
12.5%
Change on year
up 23.8%
World rank
44th
of 169 countries
All-time high
24.8%
in 1970
All-time low
2.7%
in 1998
Years of data
30
1970–2024
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Malaysia, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Malaysia stood at 12.5%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 23.8% on the previous year and up 63.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Malaysia peaked at 24.8% in 1970 and was at its lowest, 2.7%, in 1998.
Malaysia ranks 44th of 169 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 24.8% | — |
| 1971 | 22.0% | -11.0% |
| 1972 | 20.8% | -5.5% |
| 1998 | 2.7% | -87.0% |
| 1999 | 4.0% | +48.9% |
| 2000 | 3.1% | -23.2% |
| 2001 | 5.0% | +62.5% |
| 2002 | 7.2% | +43.9% |
| 2003 | 4.9% | -32.6% |
| 2004 | 3.7% | -25.1% |
| 2005 | 5.2% | +41.3% |
| 2006 | 5.1% | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 5.5% | +7.7% |
| 2008 | 5.6% | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 4.0% | -28.1% |
| 2010 | 4.9% | +22.3% |
| 2011 | 4.8% | -1.8% |
| 2012 | 5.6% | +16.4% |
| 2013 | 5.7% | +3.0% |
| 2014 | 7.6% | +33.0% |
| 2015 | 8.8% | +15.3% |
| 2016 | 10.2% | +16.3% |
| 2017 | 10.7% | +4.1% |
| 2018 | 11.2% | +5.0% |
| 2019 | 12.8% | +13.8% |
| 2020 | 12.8% | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 12.4% | -3.8% |
| 2022 | 12.4% | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 10.1% | -19.0% |
| 2024 | 12.5% | +23.8% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 12.5% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 5.8%, 2.1× the median. (49 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 12.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.6%, 3.5× the median. (24 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 22.5% | 20.8% | 24.8% | 3 |
| 1990s | 3.4% | 2.7% | 4.0% | 2 |
| 2000s | 4.9% | 3.1% | 7.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.2% | 4.8% | 12.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.0% | 10.1% | 12.8% | 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 and adolescents of primary and lower in Malaysia?
- Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Malaysia was 12.5% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 24.8% in 1970.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.7% in 1998.
- How does Malaysia rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
- Malaysia ranks 44th out of 169 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 63.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- 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 and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release