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 14.1% 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
Malaysia recorded 14.1% for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 20 years on record.
The figure is down 15.4% on the previous year and down 26.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary in Malaysia peaked at 29.4% in 1998 and was at its lowest, 14.1%, in 2024.
Malaysia ranks 89th 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 | 29.4% | — |
| 1999 | 18.2% | -38.2% |
| 2002 | 27.3% | +50.2% |
| 2003 | 26.3% | -3.6% |
| 2004 | 27.6% | +4.9% |
| 2005 | 28.1% | +1.9% |
| 2006 | 29.0% | +3.2% |
| 2007 | 21.9% | -24.4% |
| 2008 | 22.2% | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 21.6% | -3.0% |
| 2010 | 19.1% | -11.3% |
| 2016 | 19.3% | +0.9% |
| 2017 | 14.7% | -23.8% |
| 2018 | 16.3% | +11.1% |
| 2019 | 19.3% | +18.0% |
| 2020 | 18.6% | -3.5% |
| 2021 | 22.9% | +23.1% |
| 2022 | 21.9% | -4.3% |
| 2023 | 16.7% | -23.9% |
| 2024 | 14.1% | -15.4% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 14.1% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 15.3%, 92% of the median. (52 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 14.1% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 14.4%, 98% of the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 23.8% | 18.2% | 29.4% | 2 |
| 2000s | 25.5% | 21.6% | 29.0% | 8 |
| 2010s | 17.8% | 14.7% | 19.3% | 5 |
| 2020s | 18.8% | 14.1% | 22.9% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
- 86 New Zealand 14.4% compare
- 87 United States of America 14.3% compare
- 88 Marshall Islands 14.3% compare
- 90 Lebanon 13.7% compare
- 91 Morocco 13.4% compare
- 92 Oman 13.1% 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 14.1% 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 29.4% 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 14.1% in 2024.
- How does Malaysia rank for out-of-school rate for children one year before the official primary?
- Malaysia ranks 89th 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 down 26.8%. 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, male (%). 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