School life expectancy, primary and lower … life both sexes lower in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: School life expectancy, primary and lower … life both sexes lower was 6.76 years in 2024. ▼ Falling
School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Bulgaria, 2001–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Bulgaria recorded 6.76 years for school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.3% on the previous year and down 11.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Bulgaria peaked at 8.2 years in 2004 and was at its lowest, 6.76 years, in 2024.
Bulgaria ranks 184th of 200 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and lower … life both sexes lower in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 7.72 years | — |
| 2002 | 7.96 years | +3.0% |
| 2003 | 8.14 years | +2.3% |
| 2004 | 8.2 years | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 8.19 years | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 8.12 years | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 8.07 years | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 7.94 years | -1.7% |
| 2009 | 7.81 years | -1.5% |
| 2010 | 7.74 years | -1.0% |
| 2011 | 7.62 years | -1.5% |
| 2012 | 7.46 years | -2.1% |
| 2013 | 7.57 years | +1.4% |
| 2014 | 7.64 years | +1.0% |
| 2015 | 7.62 years | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 7.57 years | -0.6% |
| 2017 | 7.57 years | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 7.09 years | -6.3% |
| 2019 | 7.02 years | -0.9% |
| 2020 | 6.99 years | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 6.85 years | -2.1% |
| 2022 | 6.81 years | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 6.78 years | -0.5% |
| 2024 | 6.76 years | -0.3% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 6.76 years is below the median for high income countries, which is 9.09 years, 74% of the median. (73 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 6.76 years is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 9.04 years, 75% of the median. (52 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 8.02 years | 7.72 years | 8.2 years | 9 |
| 2010s | 7.49 years | 7.02 years | 7.74 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.84 years | 6.76 years | 6.99 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
- 181 Ethiopia 6.89 years compare
- 182 Solomon Islands 6.87 years compare
- 183 Moldova 6.85 years compare
- 185 Micronesia (country) 6.56 years compare
- 186 Eritrea 6.56 years compare
- 187 Central African Republic 6.5 years 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 school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Bulgaria?
- School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes in Bulgaria was 6.76 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 8.2 years in 2004.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.76 years in 2024.
- How does Bulgaria rank for school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes?
- Bulgaria ranks 184th out of 200 countries with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 11.6%. 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 School life expectancy, primary and lower secondary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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