School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Malaysia
Malaysia: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes was 12.12 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
12.12 years
Change on year
down 0.1%
World rank
129th
of 186 countries
All-time high
12.99 years
in 2016
All-time low
9.99 years
in 1982
Years of data
42
1979–2024
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Malaysia, 1979–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 12.12 years for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in 2024.
The figure is down 0.1% on the previous year and down 5.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Malaysia peaked at 12.99 years in 2016 and was at its lowest, 9.99 years, in 1982.
That places Malaysia 129th out of 186 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 42 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 10 years | — |
| 1980 | 9.99 years | -0.0% |
| 1982 | 9.99 years | -0.0% |
| 1983 | 10.16 years | +1.7% |
| 1984 | 10.21 years | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 10.23 years | +0.1% |
| 1987 | 10.45 years | +2.2% |
| 1988 | 10.32 years | -1.2% |
| 1989 | 10.18 years | -1.4% |
| 1990 | 10.02 years | -1.6% |
| 1991 | 10.09 years | +0.7% |
| 1992 | 10.19 years | +1.0% |
| 1993 | 10.16 years | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 10.24 years | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 10.33 years | +0.9% |
| 1998 | 11.69 years | +13.2% |
| 1999 | 11.64 years | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 11.87 years | +1.9% |
| 2001 | 11.92 years | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 11.93 years | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 12.38 years | +3.7% |
| 2004 | 12.54 years | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 12.24 years | -2.3% |
| 2006 | 11.9 years | -2.8% |
| 2007 | 12.16 years | +2.1% |
| 2008 | 12.37 years | +1.7% |
| 2009 | 12.56 years | +1.6% |
| 2010 | 12.79 years | +1.8% |
| 2011 | 12.59 years | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 12.72 years | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 12.78 years | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 12.83 years | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 12.9 years | +0.6% |
| 2016 | 12.99 years | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 12.68 years | -2.4% |
| 2018 | 12.47 years | -1.7% |
| 2019 | 12.28 years | -1.5% |
| 2020 | 12.03 years | -2.0% |
| 2021 | 12.02 years | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 12.9 years | +7.3% |
| 2023 | 12.14 years | -5.9% |
| 2024 | 12.12 years | -0.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 10 years | 10 years | 10 years | 1 |
| 1980s | 10.19 years | 9.99 years | 10.45 years | 8 |
| 1990s | 10.54 years | 10.02 years | 11.69 years | 8 |
| 2000s | 12.19 years | 11.87 years | 12.56 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.7 years | 12.28 years | 12.99 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.24 years | 12.02 years | 12.9 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
- 126 San Marino 12.31 years compare
- 127 Belize 12.28 years compare
- 128 Botswana 12.19 years compare
- 130 Cote d'Ivoire 11.96 years compare
- 131 Samoa 11.92 years compare
- 132 Trinidad and Tobago 11.81 years compare
More education data for Malaysia
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,024 tertiary education (2024)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0494 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 273,792 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 2 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 4 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 70.7% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 21.3% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Malaysia?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Malaysia was 12.12 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 12.99 years in 2016.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.99 years in 1982.
- How does Malaysia rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- Malaysia ranks 129th out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 5.5%. 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, published as part of School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 42 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release