Employment by status in Malaysia
Malaysia: Employment by status was 74.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Employment by status in Malaysia, 1991–2024
Source: International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for employment by status in Malaysia is 74.5%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 1.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, employment by status in Malaysia peaked at 74.5% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 67.8%, in 1991.
That places Malaysia 71st out of 186 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 69.2% | 67.8% | 70.2% | 9 |
| 2000s | 71.6% | 70.5% | 72.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 73.3% | 72.7% | 74.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 74.3% | 74.0% | 74.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
More work & labour data for Malaysia
- Legislation on sexual harassment in employment 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Criminal sanctions or compensation for workplace sexual harassment 0 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Women can take the same jobs as men 1 (1=yes; 0=no) (2023)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) 66.1% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) 79.2% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) 65.2% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 51.6% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15-6 70.7% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15-64) 83.1% (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15 56.7% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is employment by status in Malaysia?
- Employment by status in Malaysia was 74.5% in 2024, according to International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest employment by status recorded in Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 74.5% in 2024.
- What is the lowest employment by status recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 67.8% in 1991.
- How does Malaysia rank for employment by status?
- Malaysia ranks 71st out of 186 countries with data for 2024.
- Is employment by status rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Employment by status. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of people in employment working as employees, as a percentage of total employment.