Compulsory education, duration in Malaysia
Malaysia: Compulsory education, duration was 6 years in 2025. ▬ Flat
Compulsory education, duration in Malaysia, 2003–2025
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2025, compulsory education, duration in Malaysia stood at 6 years. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, compulsory education, duration in Malaysia peaked at 6 years in 2003 and was at its lowest, 6 years, in 2003.
That places Malaysia 177th out of 197 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 7 |
| 2010s | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 6 years | 6 years | 6 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
- 177 Benin 6 years compare
- 177 Cameroon 6 years compare
- 177 Comoros 6 years compare
- 177 Democratic Republic of Congo 6 years compare
- 177 Equatorial Guinea 6 years compare
- 177 Guinea 6 years compare
- 177 Guyana 6 years compare
- 177 Haiti 6 years compare
- 177 Iraq 6 years compare
- 177 Jamaica 6 years compare
- 177 Liberia 6 years compare
- 177 Rwanda 6 years compare
- 177 Sao Tome and Principe 6 years compare
- 177 Singapore 6 years compare
- 177 Suriname 6 years compare
More education data for Malaysia
- Population ages 0-14 21.3% (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 70.7% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 90.4% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 273,792 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 90.4% (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, male 90.3% (2024)
- Labor force, female 37.1% (2025)
- Labor force, total 18.72 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is compulsory education, duration in Malaysia?
- Compulsory education, duration in Malaysia was 6 years in 2025, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest compulsory education, duration recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 6 years in 2003.
- What is the lowest compulsory education, duration recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 6 years in 2003.
- How does Malaysia rank for compulsory education, duration?
- Malaysia ranks 177th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is compulsory education, duration rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Compulsory education, duration (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Duration of compulsory education is the number of years that children are legally obliged to attend school.