School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years) (tertiary both) in Malaysia
Malaysia: School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years) (tertiary both) was 2.2 years in 2019. ◆ Volatile
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Malaysia, 1979–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Malaysia is 2.2 years, measured in 2019.
That represents a change of down 5.7% on the previous year and up 19.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Malaysia peaked at 2.49 years in 2016 and was at its lowest, 0.1912 years, in 1979.
Malaysia ranks 73rd of 183 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years) (tertiary both) in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1979 | 0.1912 years | — |
| 1980 | 0.1996 years | +4.4% |
| 1982 | 0.2167 years | +8.6% |
| 1983 | 0.216 years | -0.3% |
| 1984 | 0.2407 years | +11.5% |
| 1985 | 0.2861 years | +18.9% |
| 1986 | 0.3365 years | +17.6% |
| 1987 | 0.3676 years | +9.2% |
| 1988 | 0.369 years | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 0.3302 years | -10.5% |
| 1990 | 0.3589 years | +8.7% |
| 1991 | 0.3942 years | +9.9% |
| 1992 | 0.4457 years | +13.1% |
| 1993 | 0.4608 years | +3.4% |
| 1994 | 0.5072 years | +10.1% |
| 1995 | 0.5487 years | +8.2% |
| 1998 | 1.08 years | +97.2% |
| 1999 | 1.13 years | +4.5% |
| 2000 | 1.28 years | +13.3% |
| 2001 | 1.26 years | -1.7% |
| 2002 | 1.43 years | +13.6% |
| 2003 | 1.59 years | +11.1% |
| 2004 | 1.56 years | -1.8% |
| 2005 | 1.45 years | -7.0% |
| 2006 | 1.49 years | +2.7% |
| 2007 | 1.56 years | +4.5% |
| 2008 | 1.74 years | +11.8% |
| 2009 | 1.85 years | +6.1% |
| 2010 | 1.92 years | +3.9% |
| 2011 | 1.87 years | -2.7% |
| 2012 | 1.94 years | +3.8% |
| 2013 | 2.03 years | +4.6% |
| 2014 | 2.06 years | +1.8% |
| 2015 | 2.34 years | +13.4% |
| 2016 | 2.49 years | +6.6% |
| 2017 | 2.24 years | -10.0% |
| 2018 | 2.33 years | +3.8% |
| 2019 | 2.2 years | -5.7% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 2.2 years is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.96 years, 1.1× the median. (54 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 2.2 years is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 1.67 years, 1.3× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years) (tertiary both) in Malaysia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | +97.2% | 0.5487 years | 1.08 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.1912 years | 0.1912 years | 0.1912 years | 1 |
| 1980s | 0.2847 years | 0.1996 years | 0.369 years | 9 |
| 1990s | 0.616 years | 0.3589 years | 1.13 years | 8 |
| 2000s | 1.52 years | 1.26 years | 1.85 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.14 years | 1.87 years | 2.49 years | 10 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More education data for Malaysia
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 88.9 (2024)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 88.03 (2024)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Malaysia?
- School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Malaysia was 2.2 years in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 2.49 years in 2016.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1912 years in 1979.
- How does Malaysia rank for school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes?
- Malaysia ranks 73rd out of 183 countries with data for 2019.
- Is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Number of years a person of school entrance age can expect to spend within the specified level of education. For a child of a certain age a, the school life expectancy is calculated as the sum of the age specific enrolment rates for the levels of education specified. The part of the enrolment that is not distributed by age is divided by the school-age population for the level of education they are enrolled in, and multiplied by the duration of that level of education. The result is then added to the sum of the age-specific enrolment rates. A relatively high SLE indicates greater probability for children to spend more years in education and higher overall retention within the education system. It must be noted that the expected number of years does not necessarily coincide with the expected number of grades of education completed, because of repetition. Since school life expectancy is an average based on participation in different levels of education, the expected number of years of schooling may be pulled down by the magnitude of children who never go to school. Those children who are in school may benefit from many more years of education than the average.