Official entrance age to compulsory education in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Official entrance age to compulsory education was 4 in 2025. ▼ Falling
Official entrance age to compulsory education in Bulgaria, 1998–2025
Source: UNICEF.
Analysis
The most recent figure for official entrance age to compulsory education in Bulgaria is 4, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 28 years on record.
The figure is down 33.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, official entrance age to compulsory education in Bulgaria peaked at 7 in 1998 and was at its lowest, 4, in 2021.
Bulgaria ranks 69th of 73 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 28 years of available data.
Official entrance age to compulsory education in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 7 | — |
| 1999 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 7 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 6 | -14.3% |
| 2012 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 6 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 5 | -16.7% |
| 2018 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 5 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 4 | -20.0% |
| 2022 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 4 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 4 | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 2 |
| 2000s | 7 | 7 | 7 | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.8 | 5 | 7 | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.17 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
- 69 Luxembourg 4 compare
- 69 Hungary 4 compare
- 69 Switzerland 4 compare
More education data for Bulgaria
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 22,710 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 4 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 63.4% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 14.4% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 11 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 7 years (2025)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 95.28 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary 95.3% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is official entrance age to compulsory education in Bulgaria?
- Official entrance age to compulsory education in Bulgaria was 4 in 2025, according to UNICEF.
- What is the highest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 7 in 1998.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 4 in 2021.
- How does Bulgaria rank for official entrance age to compulsory education?
- Bulgaria ranks 69th out of 73 countries with data for 2025.
- Is official entrance age to compulsory education rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 33.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from UNICEF, published as part of Official entrance age to compulsory education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required).