Compulsory education, duration in Bulgaria

Bulgaria: Compulsory education, duration was 12 years in 2025. ▲ Rising

Latest (2025)
12 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
33rd
of 197 countries
All-time high
12 years
in 2021
All-time low
9 years
in 1998
Years of data
28
1998–2025

Compulsory education, duration in Bulgaria, 1998–2025

02.557.51012.51998201120251998: 9 years1999: 9 years2000: 9 years2001: 9 years2002: 9 years2003: 9 years2004: 9 years2005: 9 years2006: 9 years2007: 9 years2008: 9 years2009: 9 years2010: 9 years2011: 10 years2012: 10 years2013: 10 years2014: 10 years2015: 10 years2016: 10 years2017: 11 years2018: 11 years2019: 11 years2020: 11 years2021: 12 years2022: 12 years2023: 12 years2024: 12 years2025: 12 years

Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2025, compulsory education, duration in Bulgaria stood at 12 years. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 20.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, compulsory education, duration in Bulgaria peaked at 12 years in 2021 and was at its lowest, 9 years, in 1998.

That places Bulgaria 33rd out of 197 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 9 years 9 years 9 years 2
2000s 9 years 9 years 9 years 10
2010s 10.2 years 9 years 11 years 10
2020s 11.83 years 11 years 12 years 6

Countries ranked near Bulgaria

  1. 33 Armenia 12 years compare
  2. 33 Bahamas 12 years compare
  3. 33 British Virgin Islands 12 years compare
  4. 33 Cayman Islands 12 years compare
  5. 33 Chile 12 years compare
  6. 33 Colombia 12 years compare
  7. 33 Dominica 12 years compare
  8. 33 Egypt 12 years compare
  9. 33 Finland 12 years compare
  10. 33 Grenada 12 years compare
  11. 33 Honduras 12 years compare
  12. 33 Italy 12 years compare
  13. 33 Kenya 12 years compare
  14. 33 North Korea 12 years compare
  15. 33 Maldives 12 years compare
  16. 33 Mauritius 12 years compare
  17. 33 Mongolia 12 years compare
  18. 33 Pakistan 12 years compare
  19. 33 Palau 12 years compare
  20. 33 Portugal 12 years compare
  21. 33 Qatar 12 years compare
  22. 33 Saint Kitts and Nevis 12 years compare
  23. 33 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 12 years compare
  24. 33 Turkey 12 years compare
  25. 33 Turkmenistan 12 years compare
  26. 33 United Arab Emirates 12 years compare
  27. 33 United States 12 years compare

See the full ranking of 243 places →

More education data for Bulgaria

All data for Bulgaria →

Frequently asked questions

What is compulsory education, duration in Bulgaria?
Compulsory education, duration in Bulgaria was 12 years in 2025, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
What is the highest compulsory education, duration recorded in Bulgaria?
The highest recorded value was 12 years in 2021.
What is the lowest compulsory education, duration recorded in Bulgaria?
The lowest recorded value was 9 years in 1998.
How does Bulgaria rank for compulsory education, duration?
Bulgaria ranks 33rd out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
Is compulsory education, duration rising or falling in Bulgaria?
Over the last ten years it is up 20.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Compulsory education, duration (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

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About this data

Indicator
Compulsory education, duration (years)
Unit
years
Source
Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
243 places, 6,506 data points, 1975–2025
Last refreshed

Duration of compulsory education is the number of years that children are legally obliged to attend school.