Malaysia: Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) (national estimate)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, Malaysia's unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) (national estimate) rose 0.48 percentage points on 2021 (from 11.26% to 11.73%).

Across the 14 yearly changes before that (2008 to 2021), the average change was +0.03 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.82 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 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 1.5 percentage points in 2020 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.7 percentage points in 2011. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2013 to 2022 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.22 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 76% of the movement over 10 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 2022 ranking

• Morocco — 1st of 5: 32.65%
• San Marino — 2nd of 5: 15.75%
• Azerbaijan — 3rd of 5: 13.55%
• Kazakhstan — 5th of 5: 3.81%

What this measures

Youth unemployment refers to the share of the labor force ages 15-24 without work but available for and seeking employment. Definitions of labor force and unemployment differ by country.

Limitations: The criteria for people considered to be seeking work, and the treatment of people temporarily laid off or seeking work for the first time, vary across countries. In many cases it is especially difficult to measure employment and unemployment in agriculture. The timing of a survey can maximize the effects of seasonal unemployment in agriculture. And informal sector employment is difficult to quantify where informal activities are not tracked.

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

All 19 values

Unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) (national estimate) in nearby economies

• Australia — 9.53% (2025)
• Brunei Darussalam — 20.24% (2025)
• Cambodia — 8.52% (2025)
• Hong Kong SAR, China — 11.21% (2025)
• Indonesia — 13.27% (2023)
• Japan — 3.8% (2025)
• Korea, Rep. — 5.71% (2025)
• Macao SAR, China

More social protection & labor data for Malaysia

• Net migration — 166,615 (2025)
• Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum — 150,164 (2025)
• Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+) (national estimate) — 55.8% (2022)
• Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (national estimate) — 68.13% (2022)
• Labor force participation rate, male (% of male population ages 15+) (national estimate) — 81.9% (2022)
• Labor force participation rate, total (% of total population ages 15+) (national estimate) — 69.3% (2022)
• Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (national estimate) — 4.1% (2022)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Malaysia's unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) (national estimate)?

11.73% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1970?

It is down 0.37 percentage points from 12.1% in 1970. The highest value was 12.1% in 1970 and the lowest 1.24% in 1991.

Is the latest change in unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) (national estimate) unusual for Malaysia?

In 2022, Malaysia's unemployment, youth total (% of total labor force ages 15-24) (national estimate) rose 0.48 percentage points on 2021 (from 11.26% to 11.73%). Across the 14 yearly changes before that (2008 to 2021), the average change was +0.03 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.82 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 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 SL.UEM.1524.NE.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Labour Force Statistics database (LFS), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: September 28, 2026 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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