Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age was 6.8% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Bulgaria, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Bulgaria is 6.8%, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 6.2% on the previous year and up 172.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Bulgaria peaked at 6.8% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 2.2%, in 2013.
Bulgaria ranks 94th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 2.8% | — |
| 2001 | 2.6% | -7.1% |
| 2002 | 2.7% | +3.8% |
| 2003 | 2.7% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 2.7% | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 2.7% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 2.8% | +3.7% |
| 2007 | 2.8% | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 2.8% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 2.9% | +3.6% |
| 2010 | 2.9% | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 2.7% | -6.9% |
| 2012 | 2.5% | -7.4% |
| 2013 | 2.2% | -12.0% |
| 2014 | 2.2% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 2.5% | +13.6% |
| 2016 | 2.7% | +8.0% |
| 2017 | 3.0% | +11.1% |
| 2018 | 3.5% | +16.7% |
| 2019 | 3.8% | +8.6% |
| 2020 | 4.1% | +7.9% |
| 2021 | 4.6% | +12.2% |
| 2022 | 5.2% | +13.0% |
| 2023 | 5.8% | +11.5% |
| 2024 | 6.4% | +10.3% |
| 2025 | 6.8% | +6.2% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 6.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.4%, 5.0× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 6.8% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.2%, 5.4× the median. (52 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.8% | 2.6% | 2.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.8% | 2.2% | 3.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.5% | 4.1% | 6.8% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
- 91 Sierra Leone 7.3% compare
- 92 South Africa 7.2% compare
- 93 Palestine, State of 7.1% compare
- 94 Tuvalu 6.8% compare
- 96 China 6.7% compare
- 97 Saint Lucia 6.5% compare
- 97 Maldives 6.5% compare
More education data for Bulgaria
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 43,834 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 1,173 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 111,576 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 105,281 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 485,226 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 234,521 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0.7644 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0364 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Bulgaria?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Bulgaria was 6.8% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 6.8% in 2025.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.2% in 2013.
- How does Bulgaria rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Bulgaria ranks 94th out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 172.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age, both sexes (modelled data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release