Malaysia’s Gender Gap Index (MGGI) increased to 0.708 in 2024, up from 0.705 in 2023, driven by strong advances in education and health, with moderate improvements in economic participation and opportunity.
According to Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) Chief Statistician, Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin, women’s participation in the labour force edged up to 56.5 per cent in 2024 compared to 56.2 per cent in 2023. Women’s average monthly income also rose to RM3,499 from RM3,311 the previous year.
He said education remained the strongest-performing indicator, with female enrolment consistently higher than males across all levels. In 2024, female gross enrolment rates were 100.3 per cent for primary, 95.7 per cent for secondary and 56.4 per cent for tertiary education.
The health and survival sub-index also improved to 0.962, supported by an increase in female life expectancy at birth to 77.6 years in 2024, up from 65.6 years in 1970. Female-to-male birth ratio grew to 0.940, with 200,999 girls born compared to 213,919 boys.
Despite the progress, political empowerment remains Malaysia’s weakest area, recording an unchanged score of 0.096. In 2024, women held just 16.1 per cent of ministerial positions, while female representation in the Dewan Rakyat stood at 13.5 per cent.
At the state level, Putrajaya recorded the highest MGGI score at 0.774, followed closely by Kuala Lumpur (0.773) and Labuan (0.750). Six states surpassed the national score: Kelantan (0.729), Selangor (0.725), Negeri Sembilan (0.724), Perlis and Perak (0.715), and Kedah (0.713).
For the first time, DOSM released two publications: the Malaysia Gender Gap Index (MGGI) 2025 report, which assesses gender disparities across four sub-indices, and the Statistics on Women Empowerment, Malaysia 2025 report, which analyses women’s socio-economic contributions.
The report highlighted that women made up 47.5 per cent, or 16.2 million, of Malaysia’s population of 34.1 million in 2024. That year, 200,999 baby girls were born out of 414,918 total live births, while the national fertility rate remained at 1.6 children per woman.
DOSM reaffirmed Malaysia’s commitment to advancing gender equality in line with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Thirteenth Malaysia Plan, which targets raising the female labour force participation rate to 60 per cent. It also stressed the importance of gender-disaggregated data in supporting effective and inclusive policymaking.
