Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural was 11.4% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural in Bulgaria, 2006–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2021, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural in Bulgaria stood at 11.4%. That is the lowest value across all 16 years on record.
The figure is down 6.2% on the previous year and down 18.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural in Bulgaria peaked at 22.9% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 11.4%, in 2021.
Bulgaria ranks 44th of 68 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 20.6% | — |
| 2007 | 16.7% | -18.9% |
| 2008 | 15.2% | -8.8% |
| 2009 | 17.1% | +12.5% |
| 2010 | 14.7% | -14.2% |
| 2011 | 13.9% | -5.4% |
| 2012 | 21.2% | +52.8% |
| 2013 | 13.8% | -35.2% |
| 2014 | 22.6% | +64.5% |
| 2015 | 20.6% | -8.9% |
| 2016 | 22.9% | +11.1% |
| 2017 | 18.2% | -20.3% |
| 2018 | 15.7% | -14.2% |
| 2019 | 14.0% | -10.7% |
| 2020 | 12.2% | -12.9% |
| 2021 | 11.4% | -6.2% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 11.4% is above the median for high income countries, which is 6.2%, 1.8× the median. (27 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 11.4% is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 6.4%, 1.8× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural in Bulgaria changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | +64.5% | 13.8% | 22.6% |
| 2012 | +52.8% | 13.9% | 21.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 17.4% | 15.2% | 20.6% | 4 |
| 2010s | 17.8% | 13.8% | 22.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 11.8% | 11.4% | 12.2% | 2 |
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 youth of upper secondary school age, rural in Bulgaria?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural in Bulgaria was 11.4% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 22.9% in 2016.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.4% in 2021.
- How does Bulgaria rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural?
- Bulgaria ranks 44th out of 68 countries with data for 2021.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 18.0%. 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 youth of upper secondary school age, rural, female (household survey data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release