Malaysia: Government expenditure per student, tertiary (% of GDP per capita)

Key figures

Over five years it is down 20.37 percentage points from 44.13% in 2013. Since 2000 it is down 57.11 percentage points from 80.86% in 2000. The World Bank has no value for 4 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.

What the numbers say

In 2018, Malaysia's government expenditure per student, tertiary (% of GDP per capita) fell 1.03 percentage points on 2017 (from 24.79% to 23.75%).

Across the 10 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2017), the average change was −3.88 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 14.84 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 28.23 percentage points in 2001 and the biggest yearly fall was 21.05 percentage points in 2004. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2009 to 2018 the straight-line trend is downward, about 4.06 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 88% of the movement over 8 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

Closest to Malaysia in the 2018 ranking

• Rwanda — 2nd of 8: 97.66%
• Moldova — 3rd of 8: 26.65%
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 4th of 8: 24.2%
• Andorra — 6th of 8: 22.29%
• Colombia — 7th of 8: 21.64%
• El Salvador — 8th of 8: 11.13%

What this measures

Government expenditure per student is the average general government expenditure (current, capital, and transfers) per student in the given level of education, expressed as a percentage of GDP per capita.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.

All 15 values

Government expenditure per student, tertiary (% of GDP per capita) in nearby economies

• Hong Kong SAR, China — 24.2% (2018)
• Macao SAR, China — 19.05% (2017)
• Mongolia — 5.19% (2017)

More education data for Malaysia

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 12 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Secondary education, pupils — 2.64 million (2024)
• School enrollment, secondary (% gross) — 80.28% (2024)
• School enrollment, secondary, female (% gross) — 81.54% (2024)
• School enrollment, secondary, male (% gross) — 79.11% (2024)
• Secondary education, teachers — 217,105 (2024)
• Primary education, pupils — 3.06 million (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Malaysia's government expenditure per student, tertiary (% of GDP per capita)?

23.75% in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2000?

It is down 57.11 percentage points from 80.86% in 2000. The highest value was 109.09% in 2001 and the lowest 23.75% in 2018.

Is the latest change in government expenditure per student, tertiary (% of GDP per capita) unusual for Malaysia?

In 2018, Malaysia's government expenditure per student, tertiary (% of GDP per capita) fell 1.03 percentage points on 2017 (from 24.79% to 23.75%). Across the 10 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2017), the average change was −3.88 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 14.84 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.XPD.TERT.PC.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://uis.unesco.org/bdds, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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