Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Malaysia
Malaysia: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes was 9.5% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Malaysia, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Malaysia stood at 9.5%. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.2% on the previous year and up 13.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Malaysia peaked at 9.5% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 6.0%, in 2005.
That places Malaysia 67th 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 children of primary school age, both sexes in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.8% | — |
| 2001 | 7.6% | -2.6% |
| 2002 | 7.1% | -6.6% |
| 2003 | 6.6% | -7.0% |
| 2004 | 6.2% | -6.1% |
| 2005 | 6.0% | -3.2% |
| 2006 | 6.1% | +1.7% |
| 2007 | 6.3% | +3.3% |
| 2008 | 6.7% | +6.3% |
| 2009 | 7.2% | +7.5% |
| 2010 | 8.0% | +11.1% |
| 2011 | 8.4% | +5.0% |
| 2012 | 8.5% | +1.2% |
| 2013 | 8.6% | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 8.5% | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 8.4% | -1.2% |
| 2016 | 8.0% | -4.8% |
| 2017 | 7.8% | -2.5% |
| 2018 | 7.7% | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 7.8% | +1.3% |
| 2020 | 8.0% | +2.6% |
| 2021 | 8.4% | +5.0% |
| 2022 | 8.7% | +3.6% |
| 2023 | 9.0% | +3.4% |
| 2024 | 9.3% | +3.3% |
| 2025 | 9.5% | +2.2% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 9.5% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3.4%, 2.8× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 9.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 3.5%, 2.7× the median. (32 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6.8% | 6.0% | 7.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.2% | 7.7% | 8.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.8% | 8.0% | 9.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
- 64 Philippines 9.8% compare
- 65 Kiribati 9.6% compare
- 65 Zambia 9.6% compare
- 68 Dominican Republic 9.1% compare
- 69 Palestine, State of 9.0% compare
- 70 Bahrain 8.8% compare
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 of primary school age, both sexes in Malaysia?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Malaysia was 9.5% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 9.5% in 2025.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.0% in 2005.
- How does Malaysia rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes?
- Malaysia ranks 67th out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.1%. 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 of primary school age, both sexes (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