Official entrance age to compulsory education in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Official entrance age to compulsory education was 4 years in 2025. ▼ Falling
Official entrance age to compulsory education in Bulgaria, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for official entrance age to compulsory education in Bulgaria is 4 years, 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 years in 1998 and was at its lowest, 4 years, in 2021.
Bulgaria ranks 171st of 205 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 28 years of available data.
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
- 171 Argentina 4 years compare
- 171 Aruba 4 years compare
- 171 Bolivia 4 years compare
- 171 Brazil 4 years compare
- 171 Cayman Islands 4 years compare
- 171 Costa Rica 4 years compare
- 171 Curacao 4 years compare
- 171 Ghana 4 years compare
- 171 Gibraltar 4 years compare
- 171 Hungary 4 years compare
- 171 Maldives 4 years compare
- 171 Mexico 4 years compare
- 171 Nauru 4 years compare
- 171 Nepal 4 years compare
- 171 Panama 4 years compare
- 171 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 4 years compare
- 171 Switzerland 4 years compare
- 171 Tonga 4 years compare
- 171 Turks and Caicos Islands 4 years compare
- 171 Uruguay 4 years compare
More education data for Bulgaria
- Duration of pre-primary education 4 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (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)
- School enrollment, primary 95.3% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 22,710 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.75 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 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 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- 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 171st out of 205 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 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, 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 CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The official age for entering compulsory education is based on students starting at the earliest entrance age, studying full-time, and advancing without grade repetition or skipping.