Human Rights Index in Malaysia

Malaysia: Human Rights Index was 0.739 in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
0.739
Change on year
down 0.5%
World rank
91st
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.749
in 2023
All-time low
0.265
in 1942
Years of data
126
1900–2025

Human Rights Index in Malaysia, 1900–2025

00.20.40.60.8190019622025

Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.

Analysis

The most recent figure for human rights index in Malaysia is 0.739, measured in 2025.

That represents a change of down 0.5% on the previous year and up 20.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, human rights index in Malaysia peaked at 0.749 in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.265, in 1942.

Malaysia ranks 91st of 176 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 126 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1900s 0.524 0.524 0.524 10
1910s 0.5235 0.515 0.525 10
1920s 0.525 0.525 0.525 10
1930s 0.525 0.525 0.525 10
1940s 0.3851 0.265 0.511 10
1950s 0.5074 0.482 0.554 10
1960s 0.5615 0.554 0.57 10
1970s 0.5512 0.548 0.554 10
1980s 0.5596 0.556 0.563 10
1990s 0.5656 0.564 0.573 10
2000s 0.6132 0.582 0.635 10
2010s 0.6417 0.605 0.729 10
2020s 0.7338 0.711 0.749 6

Countries ranked near Malaysia

  1. 88 Nepal 0.742 compare
  2. 89 Bolivia 0.741 compare
  3. 90 Kenya 0.74 compare
  4. 92 Serbia 0.73 compare
  5. 93 Maldives 0.724 compare
  6. 94 Singapore 0.717 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for Malaysia

All data for Malaysia →

Frequently asked questions

What is human rights index in Malaysia?
Human rights index in Malaysia was 0.739 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest human rights index recorded in Malaysia?
The highest recorded value was 0.749 in 2023.
What is the lowest human rights index recorded in Malaysia?
The lowest recorded value was 0.265 in 1942.
How does Malaysia rank for human rights index?
Malaysia ranks 91st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is human rights index rising or falling in Malaysia?
Over the last ten years it is up 20.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Malaysia data come from?
The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Human Rights Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Human Rights Index
Source
V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 30,202 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed

Central estimate of the extent to which people are free from government torture, political killings, and forced labor, they have property rights, and enjoy the freedoms of movement, religion, expression, and association.