Share of children who have completed primary school in Malaysia
Malaysia: Share of children who have completed primary school was 99.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of children who have completed primary school in Malaysia, 1981–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of children who have completed primary school in Malaysia is 99.8%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who have completed primary school in Malaysia peaked at 99.8% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 75.1%, in 1981.
That places Malaysia 15th out of 165 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Share of children who have completed primary school in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 75.1% | — |
| 1982 | 75.8% | +0.9% |
| 1983 | 76.5% | +1.0% |
| 1984 | 77.3% | +1.0% |
| 1985 | 78.2% | +1.1% |
| 1986 | 79.0% | +1.1% |
| 1987 | 79.9% | +1.1% |
| 1988 | 80.8% | +1.1% |
| 1989 | 81.7% | +1.1% |
| 1990 | 82.6% | +1.1% |
| 1991 | 83.5% | +1.1% |
| 1992 | 84.4% | +1.1% |
| 1993 | 85.4% | +1.2% |
| 1994 | 86.5% | +1.3% |
| 1995 | 87.7% | +1.4% |
| 1996 | 89.0% | +1.5% |
| 1997 | 90.3% | +1.5% |
| 1998 | 91.6% | +1.5% |
| 1999 | 92.8% | +1.3% |
| 2000 | 93.9% | +1.1% |
| 2001 | 94.7% | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 95.4% | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 96.0% | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 96.5% | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 96.9% | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 97.3% | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 97.6% | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 97.9% | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 98.2% | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 98.4% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 98.6% | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 98.8% | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 98.9% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 99.1% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 99.2% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 99.3% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 99.4% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 99.5% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 99.6% | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 99.6% | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 99.7% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 99.7% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 99.8% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 99.8% | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 99.8% | +0.0% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 99.8% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 98.7%, 1.0× the median. (50 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 99.8% is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 98.6%, 1.0× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 78.3% | 75.1% | 81.7% | 9 |
| 1990s | 87.4% | 82.6% | 92.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 96.5% | 93.9% | 98.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 99.1% | 98.4% | 99.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 99.7% | 99.6% | 99.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
- 13 Mauritius 99.9% compare
- 14 United Kingdom 99.9% compare
- 16 Slovakia 99.8% compare
- 16 Turkmenistan 99.8% compare
- 18 Ireland 99.8% compare
- 18 Uzbekistan 99.8% 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 share of children who have completed primary school in Malaysia?
- Share of children who have completed primary school in Malaysia was 99.8% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 99.8% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 75.1% in 1981.
- How does Malaysia rank for share of children who have completed primary school?
- Malaysia ranks 15th out of 165 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of children who have completed primary school rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 Share of children who have completed primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Share of children who are three to five years older than the official age for the last grade of primary education who have successfully completed it. This broader age band is used to include children who started school late or had to resit particular years.