Share of population with no formal education in Malaysia
Malaysia: Share of population with no formal education was 2.2% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of population with no formal education in Malaysia, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of population with no formal education in Malaysia stood at 2.2%. That is the lowest value across all 31 years on record.
That represents a change of down 50.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of population with no formal education in Malaysia peaked at 99.7% in 1870 and was at its lowest, 2.2%, in 2020.
That places Malaysia 65th out of 111 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of population with no formal education in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 99.7% | — |
| 1875 | 99.5% | -0.2% |
| 1880 | 99.4% | -0.1% |
| 1885 | 99.1% | -0.3% |
| 1890 | 98.8% | -0.3% |
| 1895 | 98.4% | -0.4% |
| 1900 | 97.8% | -0.6% |
| 1905 | 94.8% | -3.1% |
| 1910 | 91.6% | -3.4% |
| 1915 | 88.8% | -3.1% |
| 1920 | 86.0% | -3.2% |
| 1925 | 80.0% | -7.0% |
| 1930 | 74.6% | -6.8% |
| 1935 | 70.1% | -6.0% |
| 1940 | 66.2% | -5.6% |
| 1945 | 62.3% | -5.9% |
| 1950 | 58.0% | -6.9% |
| 1955 | 53.7% | -7.4% |
| 1960 | 48.0% | -10.6% |
| 1965 | 41.6% | -13.3% |
| 1970 | 33.5% | -19.5% |
| 1975 | 29.2% | -12.8% |
| 1980 | 23.8% | -18.5% |
| 1985 | 19.1% | -19.7% |
| 1990 | 15.1% | -20.9% |
| 1995 | 11.6% | -23.2% |
| 2000 | 8.9% | -23.3% |
| 2005 | 6.9% | -22.5% |
| 2010 | 4.4% | -36.2% |
| 2015 | 3.1% | -29.5% |
| 2020 | 2.2% | -29.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 99.6% | 99.5% | 99.7% | 2 |
| 1880s | 99.2% | 99.1% | 99.4% | 2 |
| 1890s | 98.6% | 98.4% | 98.8% | 2 |
| 1900s | 96.3% | 94.8% | 97.8% | 2 |
| 1910s | 90.2% | 88.8% | 91.6% | 2 |
| 1920s | 83.0% | 80.0% | 86.0% | 2 |
| 1930s | 72.3% | 70.1% | 74.6% | 2 |
| 1940s | 64.2% | 62.3% | 66.2% | 2 |
| 1950s | 55.9% | 53.7% | 58.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 44.8% | 41.6% | 48.0% | 2 |
| 1970s | 31.4% | 29.2% | 33.5% | 2 |
| 1980s | 21.5% | 19.1% | 23.8% | 2 |
| 1990s | 13.3% | 11.6% | 15.1% | 2 |
| 2000s | 7.9% | 6.9% | 8.9% | 2 |
| 2010s | 3.8% | 3.1% | 4.4% | 2 |
| 2020s | 2.2% | 2.2% | 2.2% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More education data for Malaysia
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 1.48 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), annual growth rate -2.01 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, female (number), per capita 0.0416 units per person (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 1.58 million (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), annual growth rate -0.4237 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, male (number), per capita 0.0444 units per person (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 2.64 million (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, both sexes (number), annual growth 0.5628 % change on previous year (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 273,792 (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth rate 7.51 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of population with no formal education in Malaysia?
- Share of population with no formal education in Malaysia was 2.2% in 2020, according to Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of population with no formal education recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 99.7% in 1870.
- What is the lowest share of population with no formal education recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.2% in 2020.
- How does Malaysia rank for share of population with no formal education?
- Malaysia ranks 65th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of population with no formal education rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 50.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of population with no formal education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The share of adults aged between 15 and 64 years old with no formal education.