Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Malaysia
Malaysia: Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates was 90.4% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Malaysia, 1970–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 90.4% for primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in 2024.
The figure is down 1.2% on the previous year and down 7.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Malaysia peaked at 104.1% in 1978 and was at its lowest, 89.8%, in 2022.
Malaysia ranks 184th of 217 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 48 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 101.0% | 93.0% | 104.1% | 5 |
| 1980s | 100.0% | 96.8% | 103.4% | 9 |
| 1990s | 96.1% | 95.7% | 97.3% | 9 |
| 2000s | 96.6% | 92.9% | 98.8% | 10 |
| 2010s | 97.1% | 94.3% | 98.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 91.5% | 89.8% | 93.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More education data for Malaysia
- Duration of pre-primary education 2 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 21.3% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 70.7% (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 90.4% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 273,792 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.54 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 90.4% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Malaysia?
- Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Malaysia was 90.4% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 104.1% in 1978.
- What is the lowest primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 89.8% in 2022.
- How does Malaysia rank for primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates?
- Malaysia ranks 184th out of 217 countries with data for 2024.
- Is primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.0%. 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 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Number of children of any age group who are enrolled in primary education, expressed as a percentage of the total population of the official primary school age.