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.

Human Rights Index in Malaysia

Name: Human Rights Index in Malaysia
Creator: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

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

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.

Human Rights Index in Malaysia, year by year

Annual values for Human Rights Index in Malaysia, 1900 to 2025.
Year	Value	Change
1900	0.524	—
1901	0.524	+0.0%
1902	0.524	+0.0%
1903	0.524	+0.0%
1904	0.524	+0.0%
1905	0.524	+0.0%
1906	0.524	+0.0%
1907	0.524	+0.0%
1908	0.524	+0.0%
1909	0.524	+0.0%
1910	0.524	+0.0%
1911	0.524	+0.0%
1912	0.524	+0.0%
1913	0.524	+0.0%
1914	0.524	+0.0%
1915	0.515	-1.7%
1916	0.525	+1.9%
1917	0.525	+0.0%
1918	0.525	+0.0%
1919	0.525	+0.0%
1920	0.525	+0.0%
1921	0.525	+0.0%
1922	0.525	+0.0%
1923	0.525	+0.0%
1924	0.525	+0.0%
1925	0.525	+0.0%
1926	0.525	+0.0%
1927	0.525	+0.0%
1928	0.525	+0.0%
1929	0.525	+0.0%
1930	0.525	+0.0%
1931	0.525	+0.0%
1932	0.525	+0.0%
1933	0.525	+0.0%
1934	0.525	+0.0%
1935	0.525	+0.0%
1936	0.525	+0.0%
1937	0.525	+0.0%
1938	0.525	+0.0%
1939	0.525	+0.0%
1940	0.484	-7.8%
1941	0.373	-22.9%
1942	0.265	-29.0%
1943	0.265	+0.0%
1944	0.265	+0.0%
1945	0.275	+3.8%
1946	0.453	+64.7%
1947	0.511	+12.8%
1948	0.48	-6.1%
1949	0.48	+0.0%
1950	0.482	+0.4%
1951	0.482	+0.0%
1952	0.482	+0.0%
1953	0.482	+0.0%
1954	0.482	+0.0%
1955	0.512	+6.2%
1956	0.512	+0.0%
1957	0.532	+3.9%
1958	0.554	+4.1%
1959	0.554	+0.0%
1960	0.554	+0.0%
1961	0.57	+2.9%
1962	0.57	+0.0%
1963	0.57	+0.0%
1964	0.558	-2.1%
1965	0.558	+0.0%
1966	0.558	+0.0%
1967	0.561	+0.5%
1968	0.558	-0.5%
1969	0.558	+0.0%
1970	0.552	-1.1%
1971	0.552	+0.0%
1972	0.552	+0.0%
1973	0.552	+0.0%
1974	0.552	+0.0%
1975	0.548	-0.7%
1976	0.548	+0.0%
1977	0.548	+0.0%
1978	0.554	+1.1%
1979	0.554	+0.0%
1980	0.563	+1.6%
1981	0.56	-0.5%
1982	0.563	+0.5%
1983	0.563	+0.0%
1984	0.563	+0.0%
1985	0.556	-1.2%
1986	0.559	+0.5%
1987	0.557	-0.4%
1988	0.556	-0.2%
1989	0.556	+0.0%
1990	0.564	+1.4%
1991	0.564	+0.0%
1992	0.564	+0.0%
1993	0.564	+0.0%
1994	0.564	+0.0%
1995	0.564	+0.0%
1996	0.564	+0.0%
1997	0.564	+0.0%
1998	0.571	+1.2%
1999	0.573	+0.4%
2000	0.582	+1.6%
2001	0.59	+1.4%
2002	0.59	+0.0%
2003	0.595	+0.8%
2004	0.628	+5.5%
2005	0.625	-0.5%
2006	0.628	+0.5%
2007	0.63	+0.3%
2008	0.635	+0.8%
2009	0.629	-0.9%
2010	0.629	+0.0%
2011	0.624	-0.8%
2012	0.624	+0.0%
2013	0.615	-1.4%
2014	0.615	+0.0%
2015	0.615	+0.0%
2016	0.605	-1.6%
2017	0.638	+5.5%
2018	0.723	+13.3%
2019	0.729	+0.8%
2020	0.711	-2.5%
2021	0.725	+2.0%
2022	0.736	+1.5%
2023	0.749	+1.8%
2024	0.743	-0.8%
2025	0.739	-0.5%

Malaysia compared with similar countries

Malaysia's 0.739 is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 0.7345, 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Malaysia's 0.739 is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.728, 1.0× the median. (22 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	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

88 Nepal 0.742 compare
89 Bolivia 0.741 compare
90 Kenya 0.74 compare
92 Serbia 0.73 compare
93 Maldives 0.724 compare
94 Singapore 0.717 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More social development data for Malaysia

Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 150,164 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,477 (2025)
Political Rights Rating 4 (2025)
Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 4 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0001 units per person (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 2,477 (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0042 units per person (2025)
Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)

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.

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Human Rights Index in Malaysia. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/human-rights-index-vdem/malaysia/

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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: 18 September 2026

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.