Malaysia, unlike Finland and Denmark, has yet to be a high income country to afford free higher education for its citizens, Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

He said that based on per capita income, Malaysia was at RM25,000, compared with Finland at RM138,000 and Denmark, at RM176,000.

"The high income earned by the two countries make it possible for them to provide free higher education," he told reporters after opening the 1Youth 1Skill and ‘Rakan 4Biz’ programme in conjunction with the One Million Youth Gathering here today.

Mohamed Khaled said the number of students at institutions of higher learning in Finland and Denmark was also small, about 169,000 and 241,000, respectively, compared with the number of students in Malaysia, at 1.1 million.

The tax rate in Finland was also high, at 6.5 to 30 per cent, and Denmark, at 36.57 to 55.4 percent, while in Malaysia, the tax rate was from 0 to 26 percent, he added.

- Bernama