Share of students from abroad in Malaysia
Malaysia: Share of students from abroad was 12.47 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of students from abroad in Malaysia, 1998–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of students from abroad in Malaysia is 12.47, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
That represents a change of up 29.9% on the previous year and up 41.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of students from abroad in Malaysia peaked at 12.47 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0.7067, in 1998.
That places Malaysia 34th out of 134 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Share of students from abroad in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 0.7067 | — |
| 1999 | 0.7411 | +4.9% |
| 2000 | 3.44 | +364.2% |
| 2001 | 2.96 | -14.0% |
| 2002 | 4.39 | +48.3% |
| 2003 | 4.19 | -4.5% |
| 2004 | 3.21 | -23.5% |
| 2006 | 3.31 | +3.2% |
| 2007 | 3.8 | +14.7% |
| 2008 | 4.48 | +17.9% |
| 2009 | 5.78 | +29.0% |
| 2010 | 6.1 | +5.6% |
| 2011 | 6.14 | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 5.22 | -15.0% |
| 2014 | 8.83 | +69.2% |
| 2015 | 8.56 | -3.1% |
| 2016 | 9.29 | +8.5% |
| 2017 | 8.07 | -13.1% |
| 2018 | 9.56 | +18.5% |
| 2019 | 6.73 | -29.6% |
| 2020 | 7.48 | +11.2% |
| 2021 | 8.07 | +7.9% |
| 2022 | 8.97 | +11.2% |
| 2023 | 9.6 | +7.0% |
| 2024 | 12.47 | +29.9% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 12.47 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 3.03, 4.1× the median. (39 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 12.47 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 4.67, 2.7× the median. (18 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of students from abroad 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | +364.2% | 0.7411 | 3.44 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.7239 | 0.7067 | 0.7411 | 2 |
| 2000s | 3.95 | 2.96 | 5.78 | 9 |
| 2010s | 7.61 | 5.22 | 9.56 | 9 |
| 2020s | 9.32 | 7.48 | 12.47 | 5 |
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 share of students from abroad in Malaysia?
- Share of students from abroad in Malaysia was 12.47 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of students from abroad recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 12.47 in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of students from abroad recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7067 in 1998.
- How does Malaysia rank for share of students from abroad?
- Malaysia ranks 34th out of 134 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of students from abroad rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 41.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Share of students from abroad. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).