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 15.0% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
15.0%
Change on year
down 13.7%
World rank
79th
of 175 countries
All-time high
31.4%
in 1998
All-time low
11.6%
in 2017
Years of data
20
1998–2024
Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Malaysia, 1998–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Malaysia stood at 15.0%.
The figure is down 13.7% on the previous year and up 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Malaysia peaked at 31.4% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 11.6%, in 2017.
Malaysia ranks 79th of 175 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 31.4% | — |
| 1999 | 13.0% | -58.5% |
| 2002 | 20.7% | +59.0% |
| 2003 | 16.7% | -19.6% |
| 2004 | 20.9% | +25.4% |
| 2005 | 22.9% | +9.8% |
| 2006 | 20.7% | -9.6% |
| 2007 | 15.8% | -23.7% |
| 2008 | 17.7% | +11.7% |
| 2009 | 17.1% | -3.3% |
| 2010 | 13.6% | -20.2% |
| 2016 | 14.9% | +9.5% |
| 2017 | 11.6% | -22.1% |
| 2018 | 13.9% | +19.6% |
| 2019 | 16.3% | +17.3% |
| 2020 | 17.0% | +4.2% |
| 2021 | 21.8% | +28.3% |
| 2022 | 21.5% | -1.5% |
| 2023 | 17.4% | -18.8% |
| 2024 | 15.0% | -13.7% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 15.0% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 13.1%, 1.1× the median. (52 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 15.0% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 14.6%, 1.0× the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 22.2% | 13.0% | 31.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 19.1% | 15.8% | 22.9% | 8 |
| 2010s | 14.1% | 11.6% | 16.3% | 5 |
| 2020s | 18.5% | 15.0% | 21.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
- 76 Russian Federation 16.6% compare
- 77 Guatemala 15.9% compare
- 78 Montenegro 15.2% compare
- 80 Nicaragua 14.4% compare
- 81 El Salvador 14.2% compare
- 82 New Zealand 14.2% 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 15.0% 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 31.4% 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 11.6% in 2017.
- How does Malaysia rank for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary?
- Malaysia ranks 79th out of 175 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 up 0.8%. 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, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release