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.
Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 93.0% | — |
| 1975 | 101.4% | +9.0% |
| 1977 | 102.7% | +1.3% |
| 1978 | 104.1% | +1.3% |
| 1979 | 103.9% | -0.2% |
| 1980 | 103.4% | -0.5% |
| 1981 | 102.1% | -1.2% |
| 1982 | 101.5% | -0.6% |
| 1983 | 101.3% | -0.2% |
| 1984 | 100.0% | -1.2% |
| 1985 | 99.7% | -0.3% |
| 1987 | 97.7% | -2.0% |
| 1988 | 97.4% | -0.3% |
| 1989 | 96.8% | -0.6% |
| 1990 | 95.9% | -0.9% |
| 1991 | 95.7% | -0.3% |
| 1992 | 95.7% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 96.0% | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 96.1% | +0.1% |
| 1995 | 96.6% | +0.5% |
| 1996 | 97.3% | +0.7% |
| 1998 | 96.3% | -1.0% |
| 1999 | 95.7% | -0.7% |
| 2000 | 97.5% | +1.9% |
| 2001 | 95.4% | -2.1% |
| 2002 | 92.9% | -2.6% |
| 2003 | 93.4% | +0.5% |
| 2004 | 96.0% | +2.8% |
| 2005 | 97.1% | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 97.8% | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 98.4% | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 98.7% | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 98.8% | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 98.9% | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 98.9% | -0.0% |
| 2012 | 98.7% | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 98.9% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 97.2% | -1.8% |
| 2015 | 95.6% | -1.6% |
| 2016 | 96.2% | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 96.3% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 95.8% | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 94.3% | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 93.2% | -1.2% |
| 2021 | 92.6% | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 89.8% | -3.0% |
| 2023 | 91.5% | +1.9% |
| 2024 | 90.4% | -1.2% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 90.4% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 101.1%, 89% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 90.4% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 100.7%, 90% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
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
- 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 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.