Percentage of enrolment in secondary education in public in Malaysia
Malaysia: Percentage of enrolment in secondary education in public was 90.5% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Latest (2021)
90.5%
Change on year
up 0.6%
World rank
66th
of 182 countries
All-time high
96.9%
in 2009
All-time low
88.7%
in 2015
Years of data
24
1998–2021
Percentage of enrolment in secondary education in public in Malaysia, 1998–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 90.5% for percentage of enrolment in secondary education in public in 2021.
That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and down 5.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of enrolment in secondary education in public in Malaysia peaked at 96.9% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 88.7%, in 2015.
Malaysia ranks 66th of 182 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Percentage of enrolment in secondary education in public in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 93.5% | — |
| 1999 | 92.5% | -1.1% |
| 2000 | 94.2% | +1.9% |
| 2001 | 93.4% | -0.8% |
| 2002 | 96.5% | +3.3% |
| 2003 | 94.7% | -1.9% |
| 2004 | 94.7% | -0.1% |
| 2005 | 96.8% | +2.2% |
| 2006 | 95.9% | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 96.2% | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 96.0% | -0.2% |
| 2009 | 96.9% | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 95.5% | -1.4% |
| 2011 | 95.3% | -0.2% |
| 2012 | 92.3% | -3.2% |
| 2013 | 91.5% | -0.8% |
| 2014 | 88.9% | -2.9% |
| 2015 | 88.7% | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 90.3% | +1.8% |
| 2017 | 90.4% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 91.1% | +0.7% |
| 2019 | 90.7% | -0.4% |
| 2020 | 90.0% | -0.7% |
| 2021 | 90.5% | +0.6% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 90.5% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 88.4%, 1.0× the median. (51 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 90.5% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 77.6%, 1.2× the median. (25 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 93.0% | 92.5% | 93.5% | 2 |
| 2000s | 95.5% | 93.4% | 96.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 91.5% | 88.7% | 95.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 90.3% | 90.0% | 90.5% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
- 63 Canada 91.0% compare
- 64 United States of America 90.9% compare
- 65 Costa Rica 90.7% compare
- 67 Mongolia 90.5% compare
- 68 New Zealand 90.4% compare
- 69 Germany 90.0% 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 percentage of enrolment in secondary education in public in Malaysia?
- Percentage of enrolment in secondary education in public in Malaysia was 90.5% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of enrolment in secondary education in public recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 96.9% in 2009.
- What is the lowest percentage of enrolment in secondary education in public recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 88.7% in 2015.
- How does Malaysia rank for percentage of enrolment in secondary education in public?
- Malaysia ranks 66th out of 182 countries with data for 2021.
- Is percentage of enrolment in secondary education in public rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.0%. 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 Percentage of enrolment in secondary education in public institutions, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release