Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Malaysia
Malaysia: Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) was 10.3% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Malaysia, 2005–2025
Source: ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
Analysis
Malaysia recorded 10.3% for share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.7% on the previous year and down 16.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Malaysia peaked at 15.6% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 9.2%, in 2021.
That places Malaysia 153rd out of 187 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.
Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 15.6% | — |
| 2006 | 15.5% | -0.2% |
| 2007 | 15.4% | -0.8% |
| 2008 | 15.0% | -2.7% |
| 2009 | 15.0% | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 14.6% | -2.5% |
| 2011 | 14.4% | -1.6% |
| 2012 | 13.9% | -2.9% |
| 2013 | 13.7% | -2.2% |
| 2014 | 12.8% | -6.4% |
| 2015 | 12.2% | -4.1% |
| 2016 | 11.7% | -4.5% |
| 2017 | 11.8% | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 12.5% | +5.7% |
| 2019 | 11.4% | -8.5% |
| 2020 | 13.6% | +19.5% |
| 2021 | 9.2% | -32.1% |
| 2022 | 10.2% | +10.5% |
| 2023 | 10.1% | -0.9% |
| 2024 | 10.2% | +0.7% |
| 2025 | 10.3% | +0.7% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 10.3% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 20.0%, 51% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 10.3% is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 12.8%, 80% of the median. (29 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | -32.1% | 13.6% | 9.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 15.3% | 15.0% | 15.6% | 5 |
| 2010s | 12.9% | 11.4% | 14.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 10.6% | 9.2% | 13.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More work & labour data for Malaysia
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.2671 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.2772 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.2563 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -1.25 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate 0.6933 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 36,440 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 5,289 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 21,832 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 22,194 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 44,026 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Malaysia?
- Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) in Malaysia was 10.3% in 2025, according to ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO).
- What is the highest share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 15.6% in 2005.
- What is the lowest share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.2% in 2021.
- How does Malaysia rank for share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of)?
- Malaysia ranks 153rd out of 187 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of) rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from ILO Modelled Estimates database (ILOEST), International Labour Organization (ILO), published as part of Share of youth not in education, employment or training, total (% of youth population) (modeled ILO estimate). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
The share of youth not in education, employment or training (also known as “the NEET rate”) conveys the number of young persons not in education, employment or training as a percentage of the total youth population. Youth not in education are those who were neither enrolled in school nor in a formal training program (e.g. vocational training). For the purposes of this indicator, youth is defined as all persons between the ages of 15 and 24 (inclusive).