Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Malaysia

Malaysia: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 8.7% in 2024. ▼ Falling

Latest (2024)
8.7%
Change on year
up 25.8%
World rank
79th
of 126 countries
All-time high
16.6%
in 2009
All-time low
4.3%
in 2021
Years of data
20
2004–2024

Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Malaysia, 2004–2024

57.51012.51517.52004201420242004: 11.4 %2006: 8.8 %2007: 9.8 %2008: 13 %2009: 16.6 %2010: 12.3 %2011: 9.9 %2012: 13.5 %2013: 11.1 %2014: 10.5 %2015: 15.6 %2016: 14.2 %2017: 7.2 %2018: 6.6 %2019: 6.3 %2020: 6.1 %2021: 4.3 %2022: 6.5 %2023: 6.9 %2024: 8.7 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

Malaysia recorded 8.7% for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in 2024.

That represents a change of up 25.8% on the previous year and down 17.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Malaysia peaked at 16.6% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 4.3%, in 2021.

That places Malaysia 79th out of 126 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.

Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Malaysia, year by year

Annual values for Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Education programmes, both sexes (%) in Malaysia, 2004 to 2024.
Year % Change
2004 11.4%
2006 8.8% -22.3%
2007 9.8% +10.5%
2008 13.0% +33.0%
2009 16.6% +27.9%
2010 12.3% -25.8%
2011 9.9% -19.3%
2012 13.5% +35.8%
2013 11.1% -18.1%
2014 10.5% -5.2%
2015 15.6% +49.1%
2016 14.2% -9.1%
2017 7.2% -49.4%
2018 6.6% -8.1%
2019 6.3% -5.0%
2020 6.1% -2.8%
2021 4.3% -29.3%
2022 6.5% +49.8%
2023 6.9% +6.4%
2024 8.7% +25.8%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 11.9% 8.8% 16.6% 5
2010s 10.7% 6.3% 15.6% 10
2020s 6.5% 4.3% 8.7% 5

Countries ranked near Malaysia

  1. 76 El Salvador 9.1% compare
  2. 77 Latvia 8.9% compare
  3. 78 Belgium 8.7% compare
  4. 80 Russia 8.7% compare
  5. 81 Colombia 8.6% compare
  6. 82 Thailand 8.5% compare

See the full ranking of 126 places →

More education data for Malaysia

All data for Malaysia →

Frequently asked questions

What is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Malaysia?
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Malaysia was 8.7% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Malaysia?
The highest recorded value was 16.6% in 2009.
What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Malaysia?
The lowest recorded value was 4.3% in 2021.
How does Malaysia rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
Malaysia ranks 79th out of 126 countries with data for 2024.
Is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from rising or falling in Malaysia?
Over the last ten years it is down 17.4%. 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 graduates from tertiary education graduating from Education programmes, both sexes (%). 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).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Malaysia. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 29 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/percentage-of-graduates-from-tertiary-education-graduating-from-education-programmes-both-2/malaysia/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/percentage-of-graduates-from-tertiary-education-graduating-from-education-programmes-both-2/malaysia/">Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Malaysia</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Education programmes, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
126 places, 1,867 data points, 1998–2025
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release