Official entrance age to compulsory education in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Official entrance age to compulsory education was 4 years in 2025. ▼ Falling
Latest (2025)
4 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
166th
of 200 countries
All-time high
7 years
in 1998
All-time low
4 years
in 2021
Years of data
28
1998–2025
Official entrance age to compulsory education in Bulgaria, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2025, official entrance age to compulsory education in Bulgaria stood at 4 years. 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 years in 1998 and was at its lowest, 4 years, in 2021.
That places Bulgaria 166th out of 200 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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 | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 7 years | — |
| 1999 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 7 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 6 years | -14.3% |
| 2012 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 6 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 5 years | -16.7% |
| 2018 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 5 years | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 4 years | -20.0% |
| 2022 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 4 years | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7 years | 7 years | 7 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 7 years | 7 years | 7 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.8 years | 5 years | 7 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.17 years | 4 years | 5 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
- 166 Aruba 4 years compare
- 166 Argentina 4 years compare
- 166 Bolivia 4 years compare
- 166 Brazil 4 years compare
- 166 Switzerland 4 years compare
- 166 Costa Rica 4 years compare
- 166 Curacao 4 years compare
- 166 Cayman Islands 4 years compare
- 166 Ghana 4 years compare
- 166 Gibraltar 4 years compare
- 166 Hungary 4 years compare
- 166 Luxembourg 4 years compare
- 166 Maldives 4 years compare
- 166 Mexico 4 years compare
- 166 Nepal 4 years compare
- 166 Nauru 4 years compare
- 166 Panama 4 years compare
- 166 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 4 years compare
- 166 Turks and Caicos Islands 4 years compare
- 166 Tonga 4 years compare
- 166 Uruguay 4 years compare
More education data for Bulgaria
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,023 tertiary education (2024)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0495 % change on previous year (2024)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is official entrance age to compulsory education in Bulgaria?
- Official entrance age to compulsory education in Bulgaria was 4 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 7 years in 1998.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 4 years in 2021.
- How does Bulgaria rank for official entrance age to compulsory education?
- Bulgaria ranks 166th out of 200 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 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Official entrance age to compulsory education (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release