Malaysia
East Asia & Pacific · Upper middle income· 35.13M inhabitants
Last updated: July 1, 2025
Futures readiness profile
Key insights: Malaysia
Malaysia performs close to the global average across every GEFRI dimension. While this provides an appearance of a measure of stability and adequacy among peers, it does not reflect the level of actualized ambition needed for future success. Much progress can still be made. To secure a leading position in education futures, the country should pursue bold reforms, invest in social and economic innovations, and adopt global best practices across all areas to leapfrog ahead.
Composite GEFRI Score
62.68
73rd percentile
Higher scores indicate greater education futures readiness
Component scores
School Access and Gender Parity72.32
Above global avg. · 58th %-tile
Innovation54.64
Above global avg. · 77th %-tile
Reflects a country’s capacity to foster, produce, and apply new knowledge and technology in society and education.
Human Capital50.28
Near the global average · 41st %-tile
Assesses the educational attainment and capacity of a country’s population, focusing on access and completion at secondary and tertiary levels as well as literacy.
Infrastructure75.90
Above global avg. · 85th %-tile
Measures the availability and quality of basic digital and electrical infrastructure that supports education.
Governance60.25
Above global avg. · 72nd %-tile
Captures the effectiveness and quality of policies, regulations, and governance that shape the educational environment.
Regional peers: East Asia & Pacific
| Global rank | Regional rank | Country | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 1 | Korea, Rep. | 80.49 |
| 4 | 2 | Singapore | 79.66 |
| 6 | 3 | Hong Kong SAR, China | 79.05 |
| 8 | 4 | Australia | 78.42 |
| 10 | 5 | Japan | 78.25 |
| 17 | 6 | New Zealand | 75.41 |
| — | — | Northern Mariana Islands(microstate) | 71.23 |
| — | — | New Caledonia(microstate) | 70.42 |
| — | — | Guam(microstate) | 69.37 |
| — | — | American Samoa(microstate) | 68.93 |
| — | — | French Polynesia(microstate) | 68.41 |
| 45 | 7 | China | 64.25 |
| 48 | 8 | Thailand | 62.96 |
| 49 | 9 | Malaysia | 62.68 |
| 57 | 10 | Brunei Darussalam | 60.96 |
| 61 | 11 | Indonesia | 59.35 |
| 63 | 12 | Mongolia | 59.27 |
| 67 | 13 | Macao SAR, China | 57.83 |
| — | — | Palau(microstate) | 57.60 |
| — | — | Tuvalu(microstate) | 57.31 |
| 70 | 14 | Viet Nam | 56.58 |
| 72 | 15 | Fiji | 56.51 |
| 74 | 16 | Philippines | 56.32 |
| — | — | Nauru(microstate) | 54.97 |
| — | — | Kiribati(microstate) | 52.36 |
| — | — | Samoa(microstate) | 51.55 |
| — | — | Tonga(microstate) | 50.38 |
| 106 | 17 | Timor-Leste | 47.76 |
| — | — | Micronesia, Fed. Sts.(microstate) | 46.58 |
| 110 | 18 | Korea, Dem. People's Rep. | 44.79 |
| — | — | Marshall Islands(microstate) | 44.62 |
| 122 | 19 | Vanuatu | 40.07 |
| 126 | 20 | Cambodia | 36.21 |
| 131 | 21 | Myanmar | 33.54 |
| 132 | 22 | Solomon Islands | 33.52 |
| 136 | 23 | Lao PDR | 31.98 |
| 150 | 24 | Papua New Guinea | 26.63 |