Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Malaysia
Malaysia: Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary was 14.6% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Malaysia, 1998–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Malaysia is 14.6%, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 14.6% on the previous year and down 15.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Malaysia peaked at 30.4% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 13.2%, in 2017.
That places Malaysia 87th out of 179 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 30.4% | — |
| 1999 | 15.7% | -48.3% |
| 2000 | 24.2% | +53.9% |
| 2002 | 24.1% | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 21.7% | -10.2% |
| 2004 | 24.4% | +12.4% |
| 2005 | 25.6% | +5.1% |
| 2006 | 25.0% | -2.3% |
| 2007 | 19.0% | -24.1% |
| 2008 | 20.0% | +5.5% |
| 2009 | 19.4% | -3.1% |
| 2010 | 16.5% | -15.1% |
| 2016 | 17.2% | +4.4% |
| 2017 | 13.2% | -23.1% |
| 2018 | 15.2% | +14.7% |
| 2019 | 17.9% | +17.7% |
| 2020 | 17.8% | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 22.4% | +25.5% |
| 2022 | 21.7% | -2.9% |
| 2023 | 17.1% | -21.4% |
| 2024 | 14.6% | -14.6% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 14.6% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 14.6%, 1.0× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 14.6% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 13.0%, 1.1× the median. (28 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 23.0% | 15.7% | 30.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 22.6% | 19.0% | 25.6% | 9 |
| 2010s | 16.0% | 13.2% | 17.9% | 5 |
| 2020s | 18.7% | 14.6% | 22.4% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
- 84 Cape Verde 15.6% compare
- 85 El Salvador 15.4% compare
- 86 Nicaragua 14.9% compare
- 88 New Zealand 14.3% compare
- 89 Seychelles 13.9% compare
- 90 United States of America 13.5% 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 one year before the official primary in Malaysia?
- Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Malaysia was 14.6% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 30.4% in 1998.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.2% in 2017.
- How does Malaysia rank for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary?
- Malaysia ranks 87th out of 179 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 15.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 one year before the official primary entry age, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release