Malaysia’s Gender Gap Index (MGGI) reached 0.708 in 2024, showing a slight improvement from the previous year. The Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) released the results in two publications, Malaysia Gender Gap Index, 2025 and Statistics on Women Empowerment, Malaysia 2025. These reports were issued together for the first time to provide a clearer picture of gender gaps and women’s socio-economic progress.

The MGGI uses a scale from 0 to 1. A higher score means a smaller gap between women and men. Malaysia’s score of 0.708 shows that the country has closed about 71% of its overall gender gap. This approach follows international standards and supports Malaysia’s efforts to monitor gender equality under the Sustainable Development Goals.

MGGI Strengthens In Education, Health, And Economic Participation

The latest MGGI figure reflects gains in three sub-indices. Education remained the strongest area, recording a score of 1.073. Female enrolment at primary, secondary, and tertiary levels continued to exceed that of males. At the tertiary level, women represented 56.4% of enrolment in 2024, compared with 37.0% for men.

The Health and Survival sub-index rose to 0.962. Life expectancy for women reached 77.6 years in 2024, continuing an upward pattern seen over several decades. DOSM also reported an increase in the ratio of female to male births, rising from 0.931 in 2023 to 0.940 in 2024. These trends point to steady improvements in women’s health outcomes.

Economic Participation and Opportunity recorded a score of 0.703. The female labour force participation rate rose slightly to 56.5% in 2024, up from 56.2% the previous year. Mean monthly earnings for women increased to RM3,499 compared with RM3,311 in 2023. While the sub-index shows gradual progress, it also highlights remaining gaps in income levels, senior roles, and access to leadership pathways.

Political Representation Remains Limited

The Political Empowerment sub-index remained low at 0.096, making it the weakest dimension of the MGGI. Women held 16.1% of ministerial positions in 2024, while representation in the Dewan Rakyat stood at 13.5%. These figures reflect a significant gap between male and female participation in political leadership.

State-level results further show uneven performance. The highest MGGI scores were recorded in the Federal Territories of Putrajaya at 0.774, Kuala Lumpur at 0.773, and Labuan at 0.750. Several states, including Kelantan, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Perlis, Perak, and Kedah, also scored above the national level of 0.708.

Women’s Socio-Economic Position In 2025

The Statistics on Women Empowerment report provides broader insights into women’s achievements across eleven domains such as demography, employment, education, health, and leadership. Women made up 47.5% of Malaysia’s population in 2024, totalling 16.2 million out of 34.1 million people. That year, 200,999 baby girls were recorded out of 414,918 live births. The total fertility rate remained at 1.6 babies per woman, continuing a long-term demographic trend.

These indicators support policy goals under the Thirteenth Malaysia Plan, which aims to raise female labour force participation to 60%. DOSM emphasised the importance of accurate, sex-disaggregated data to guide gender-responsive initiatives and ensure that women’s needs are reflected in national planning.

What This Means

The latest findings show that women in Malaysia continue to make progress in areas such as education, health, and participation in the workforce. Women remain strongly represented in schools and universities, and their overall health outcomes continue to improve.

At the same time, the data highlights areas where gaps remain wide, particularly in political representation and senior leadership roles. These areas are advancing more slowly and will require continued focus from policymakers, industries, and community stakeholders.

Overall, the 2024 MGGI results indicate that Malaysia has closed a significant portion of its gender gap, but meaningful differences between men and women still exist across several sectors. The new DOSM reports provide the detailed data needed to monitor these gaps and support efforts to build a more inclusive and balanced future.

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