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 7.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Bulgaria, 2001–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Bulgaria stood at 7.0%.
The figure is up 12.1% on the previous year and up 164.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Bulgaria peaked at 7.3% in 2012 and was at its lowest, 2.1%, in 2016.
That places Bulgaria 82nd out of 162 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 3.2% | — |
| 2006 | 2.8% | -12.6% |
| 2007 | 2.6% | -8.0% |
| 2008 | 5.8% | +122.3% |
| 2009 | 5.7% | -1.3% |
| 2010 | 4.8% | -16.4% |
| 2011 | 5.7% | +19.4% |
| 2012 | 7.3% | +27.7% |
| 2013 | 3.2% | -55.8% |
| 2014 | 2.6% | -18.3% |
| 2015 | 2.2% | -14.9% |
| 2016 | 2.1% | -4.9% |
| 2017 | 3.0% | +42.9% |
| 2018 | 2.2% | -27.9% |
| 2019 | 2.7% | +21.2% |
| 2020 | 2.7% | +2.6% |
| 2021 | 3.7% | +34.5% |
| 2022 | 5.4% | +46.9% |
| 2023 | 6.2% | +15.1% |
| 2024 | 7.0% | +12.1% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 7.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.9%, 3.8× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 7.0% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 1.8%, 4.0× the median. (43 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4.0% | 2.6% | 5.8% | 5 |
| 2010s | 3.6% | 2.1% | 7.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.0% | 2.7% | 7.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
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 7.0% in 2024, 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 7.3% in 2012.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.1% in 2016.
- How does Bulgaria rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Bulgaria ranks 82nd out of 162 countries with data for 2024.
- 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 164.3%. 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, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release