School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years) (tertiary both) in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years) (tertiary both) was 3.15 years in 2018. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Bulgaria, 1971–2018
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2018, school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Bulgaria stood at 3.15 years.
The figure is down 0.5% on the previous year and up 23.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Bulgaria peaked at 3.23 years in 2015 and was at its lowest, 0.7125 years, in 1971.
Bulgaria ranks 44th of 183 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 48 years of available data.
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years) (tertiary both) in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1971 | 0.7125 years | — |
| 1972 | 0.7752 years | +8.8% |
| 1973 | 0.857 years | +10.5% |
| 1974 | 0.9016 years | +5.2% |
| 1975 | 0.9527 years | +5.7% |
| 1976 | 0.9715 years | +2.0% |
| 1977 | 0.9873 years | +1.6% |
| 1978 | 1.1 years | +11.3% |
| 1979 | 0.9118 years | -17.0% |
| 1980 | 0.853 years | -6.4% |
| 1981 | 0.8051 years | -5.6% |
| 1982 | 0.7818 years | -2.9% |
| 1983 | 0.7706 years | -1.4% |
| 1984 | 0.7993 years | +3.7% |
| 1985 | 0.8515 years | +6.5% |
| 1986 | 0.935 years | +9.8% |
| 1987 | 1.04 years | +11.0% |
| 1988 | 1.13 years | +8.6% |
| 1989 | 1.25 years | +10.9% |
| 1990 | 1.31 years | +4.6% |
| 1991 | 1.55 years | +18.4% |
| 1992 | 1.52 years | -1.9% |
| 1993 | 1.59 years | +4.8% |
| 1994 | 1.68 years | +5.5% |
| 1995 | 1.82 years | +8.4% |
| 1996 | 2.05 years | +12.5% |
| 1997 | 2.15 years | +4.9% |
| 1998 | 2.19 years | +2.1% |
| 1999 | 2.28 years | +4.1% |
| 2000 | 2.22 years | -2.6% |
| 2001 | 2.13 years | -4.3% |
| 2002 | 2 years | -5.9% |
| 2003 | 2.06 years | +3.1% |
| 2004 | 2.09 years | +1.1% |
| 2005 | 2.22 years | +6.2% |
| 2006 | 2.3 years | +3.9% |
| 2007 | 2.48 years | +7.7% |
| 2008 | 2.56 years | +3.3% |
| 2009 | 2.69 years | +5.0% |
| 2010 | 2.87 years | +6.6% |
| 2011 | 2.92 years | +1.7% |
| 2012 | 3 years | +2.7% |
| 2013 | 3.07 years | +2.5% |
| 2014 | 3.17 years | +3.2% |
| 2015 | 3.23 years | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 3.23 years | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 3.17 years | -1.9% |
| 2018 | 3.15 years | -0.5% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 3.15 years is below the median for high income countries, which is 3.2 years, 98% of the median. (64 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 3.15 years is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 3.15 years, 1.0× the median. (49 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.9076 years | 0.7125 years | 1.1 years | 9 |
| 1980s | 0.9212 years | 0.7706 years | 1.25 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.81 years | 1.31 years | 2.28 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.28 years | 2 years | 2.69 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.09 years | 2.87 years | 3.23 years | 9 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More education data for Bulgaria
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 94.2 (2024)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 94.1 (2024)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Bulgaria?
- School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Bulgaria was 3.15 years in 2018, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 3.23 years in 2015.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7125 years in 1971.
- How does Bulgaria rank for school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes?
- Bulgaria ranks 44th out of 183 countries with data for 2018.
- Is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is up 23.1%. 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 School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Number of years a person of school entrance age can expect to spend within the specified level of education. For a child of a certain age a, the school life expectancy is calculated as the sum of the age specific enrolment rates for the levels of education specified. The part of the enrolment that is not distributed by age is divided by the school-age population for the level of education they are enrolled in, and multiplied by the duration of that level of education. The result is then added to the sum of the age-specific enrolment rates. A relatively high SLE indicates greater probability for children to spend more years in education and higher overall retention within the education system. It must be noted that the expected number of years does not necessarily coincide with the expected number of grades of education completed, because of repetition. Since school life expectancy is an average based on participation in different levels of education, the expected number of years of schooling may be pulled down by the magnitude of children who never go to school. Those children who are in school may benefit from many more years of education than the average.