Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary was 8.6% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Bulgaria, 2001–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Bulgaria is 8.6%, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 9.1% on the previous year and up 51.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Bulgaria peaked at 11.7% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 4.4%, in 2017.
That places Bulgaria 89th out of 178 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 11.7% | — |
| 2002 | 9.7% | -16.4% |
| 2003 | 7.5% | -22.7% |
| 2004 | 7.0% | -7.5% |
| 2005 | 6.9% | -1.6% |
| 2006 | 7.2% | +4.8% |
| 2007 | 7.4% | +2.4% |
| 2008 | 8.0% | +8.9% |
| 2009 | 8.2% | +2.2% |
| 2010 | 7.7% | -6.3% |
| 2011 | 7.5% | -2.5% |
| 2012 | 8.4% | +12.0% |
| 2013 | 7.4% | -11.3% |
| 2014 | 5.7% | -23.3% |
| 2015 | 5.0% | -12.9% |
| 2016 | 4.8% | -3.2% |
| 2017 | 4.4% | -7.7% |
| 2018 | 5.3% | +18.8% |
| 2019 | 5.1% | -3.3% |
| 2020 | 4.6% | -9.3% |
| 2021 | 5.8% | +24.4% |
| 2022 | 7.0% | +21.6% |
| 2023 | 7.9% | +13.0% |
| 2024 | 8.6% | +9.1% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 8.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 3.5%, 2.5× the median. (68 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 8.6% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 3.5%, 2.5× the median. (49 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.2% | 6.9% | 11.7% | 9 |
| 2010s | 6.1% | 4.4% | 8.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.8% | 4.6% | 8.6% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
- 86 Samoa 8.8% compare
- 87 Cape Verde 8.8% compare
- 88 Rwanda 8.7% compare
- 90 South Africa 8.4% compare
- 91 Montserrat 8.4% compare
- 92 Tonga 8.1% 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 children, adolescents and youth of primary in Bulgaria?
- Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Bulgaria was 8.6% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 11.7% in 2001.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.4% in 2017.
- How does Bulgaria rank for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary?
- Bulgaria ranks 89th out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 51.2%. 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 Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary, lower secondary and upper secondary school age, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release