Key features of human rights in Malaysia

Malaysia: Key features of human rights 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

Key features of human rights in Malaysia, 1900–2025

00.20.40.60.8190019622025

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

Analysis

Malaysia recorded 0.739 for key features of human rights in 2025.

The figure is down 0.5% on the previous year and up 20.2% over ten years.

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

That places Malaysia 91st out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

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

Key features of human rights in Malaysia, year by year

Annual values for Key features of human rights 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

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 key features of human rights in Malaysia?
Key features of human rights in Malaysia was 0.739 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest key features of human rights recorded in Malaysia?
The highest recorded value was 0.749 in 2023.
What is the lowest key features of human rights recorded in Malaysia?
The lowest recorded value was 0.265 in 1942.
How does Malaysia rank for key features of human rights?
Malaysia ranks 91st out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is key features of human rights 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 Key features of human rights. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Key features of human rights in Malaysia. Statizoid, drawing on V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 08 October 2026, from https://social-development.statizoid.com/stat/key-features-of-human-rights/malaysia/

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About this data

Indicator
Key features of human rights
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.