Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban was 3.6% in 2021. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban in Bulgaria, 2006–2021
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Bulgaria recorded 3.6% for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 16 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 31.5% on the previous year and down 51.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban in Bulgaria peaked at 13.1% in 2009 and was at its lowest, 3.6%, in 2021.
That places Bulgaria 61st out of 69 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the bottom quarter.
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, urban in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 10.0% | — |
| 2007 | 9.2% | -8.6% |
| 2008 | 8.5% | -7.4% |
| 2009 | 13.1% | +54.8% |
| 2010 | 9.5% | -27.5% |
| 2011 | 7.5% | -20.9% |
| 2012 | 9.5% | +26.6% |
| 2013 | 7.1% | -25.9% |
| 2014 | 7.5% | +6.5% |
| 2015 | 5.5% | -27.4% |
| 2016 | 5.7% | +3.5% |
| 2017 | 7.1% | +25.1% |
| 2018 | 7.1% | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 8.2% | +15.7% |
| 2020 | 5.3% | -35.0% |
| 2021 | 3.6% | -31.5% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 3.6% is below the median for high income countries, which is 5.3%, 69% of the median. (27 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 3.6% is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 6.5%, 56% of the median. (24 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 10.2% | 8.5% | 13.1% | 4 |
| 2010s | 7.5% | 5.5% | 9.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.5% | 3.6% | 5.3% | 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, urban in Bulgaria?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban in Bulgaria was 3.6% in 2021, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 13.1% in 2009.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.6% in 2021.
- How does Bulgaria rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban?
- Bulgaria ranks 61st out of 69 countries with data for 2021.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 51.7%. 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, urban, female (household survey data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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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