Education · Europe & Central Asia · High income
Bulgaria: education in numbers
Pre-primary enrolment is 84.3% (2020), 73rd of 176 in the world and 37th of 51 in Europe & Central Asia. Primary enrolment is 95.3% (2024), 142nd of 191 in the world and 50th of 53 in Europe & Central Asia. Primary completion is 94.6% (2024), 83rd of 168 in the world and 37th of 47 in Europe & Central Asia.
Pre-primary enrolment
BulgariaEurope & Central AsiaHigh incomeWorld
Primary enrolment
BulgariaEurope & Central AsiaHigh incomeWorld
12 indicators
Education: Bulgaria in detail
Latest reported value, world rank and rank within Europe & Central Asia; values around 2000, 2010, 2020; group and world columns are World Bank aggregates.
| Indicator | Latest | World rank | In region | ~2000 | ~2010 | ~2020 | 10-year change | Region | Income group | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolmentPre-primary enrolment, % gross | 84.3%2020 | 73/176 | 37/51 | 69.9% | 80.4% | 84.3% | +3.9 ppsince 2010 | 78.3% | 83.8% | 60.9% | |
| Primary enrolmentPrimary school enrolment, % gross | 95.3%2024 | 142/191 | 50/53 | 105.3%2001 | 101.4% | 96.5% | −4.0 ppsince 2014 | 99.9% | 99.8% | 102.2% | |
| Primary completionPrimary completion rate, % of age group | 94.6%2024 | 83/168 | 37/47 | 101.3%2001 | 99.8% | 97.7% | −4.4 ppsince 2014 | 98.1% | 97.8% | 88.0% | |
| Secondary enrolmentSecondary school enrolment, % gross | 94.8%2024 | 81/176 | 38/53 | 80.9%2001 | 94.2% | 101.4% | −10.2 ppsince 2014 | 103.3% | 103.2% | 77.3% | |
| Lower secondary completionLower secondary completion rate, % of age group | 94.0%2024 | 65/168 | 30/50 | 91.1%2001 | 95.9% | 100.1% | −1.5 ppsince 2014 | 91.9% | 95.6% | 77.9% | |
| Tertiary enrolmentTertiary enrolment, % gross | 69.5%2024 | 53/172 | 32/52 | 41.0%2001 | 58.4% | 85.5% | −3.4 ppsince 2014 | 84.9% | 82.0% | 43.6% | |
| Out-of-school childrenChildren out of school, % of primary school age | 5.9%2024 | 67/178 | 6/51 | 1.6%2001 | 0.8% | 4.2% | +2.6 ppsince 2014 | — | 2.5% | — | |
| Adult literacyAdult literacy rate, % of people 15+ | 98.3%2011 | 32/141 | 22/27 | 98.2%2001 | 98.3%2011 | · | +0.2 ppsince 2001 | 98.8% | 97.7% | 87.7% | |
| Youth literacyYouth literacy rate, % of people 15–24 | 97.9%2011 | 77/148 | 25/27 | 98.2%2001 | 97.9%2011 | · | −0.3 ppsince 2001 | 99.8% | 99.3% | 93.1% | |
| Pupils per teacherPupils per teacher, primary | 15.22017 | 110/173 | 15/48 | 16.8 | 17.5 | · | −4.6%since 2007 | 14.9 | 14.0 | 23.4 | |
| Education spendingPublic spending on education, % of GDP | 4.5%2022 | 78/184 | 26/49 | 3.4%2001 | 3.9% | 4.5% | +1.0 ppsince 2012 | 4.6% | 4.7% | 3.6% | |
| Education, % of budgetEducation spending, % of government expenditure | 12.0%2022 | 105/179 | 22/49 | 9.3%2001 | 11.2% | 11.9% | +1.3 ppsince 2012 | 11.7% | 12.0% | 14.0% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)“·” — no value reported within two years of that date. World rank counts countries with a recent value.
Better than ten years ago
- Pre-primary enrolment+3.9 pp84.3% in 2020
- Adult literacy+0.2 pp98.3% in 2011
- Pupils per teacher−4.6%15.2 in 2017
Worse than ten years ago
- Primary completion−4.4 pp94.6% in 2024
- Secondary enrolment−10.2 pp94.8% in 2024
- Lower secondary completion−1.5 pp94.0% in 2024
- Tertiary enrolment−3.4 pp69.5% in 2024
Only indicators where higher or lower is clearly better are rated (for example, unemployment down is better, life expectancy up is better).
neighbours
Bulgaria and its neighbours
Countries sharing a land border with Bulgaria. Latest values since 2005; the highest in each row is marked.
| Indicator | Bulgaria | Türkiye | Romania | Greece | Serbia | North Macedonia |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-primary enrolment | 84.3%2020 | 39.7%2020 | 94.9%2020 | 93.3%2020 | 63.8%2021 | 31.0%2020 |
| Primary enrolment | 95.3%2024 | 102.4%2023 | 84.9%2023 | 102.0%2023 | 96.0%2024 | 96.3%2023 |
| Primary completion | 94.6%2024 | 90.6%2023 | 81.0%2023 | 99.9%2023 | 96.0%2022 | 95.8%2023 |
| Secondary enrolment | 94.8%2024 | 118.4%2023 | 81.6%2023 | 105.2%2023 | 89.8%2024 | 90.1%2023 |
| Lower secondary completion | 94.0%2024 | 91.8%2023 | 78.0%2023 | 93.9%2023 | 95.3%2022 | 93.0%2023 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 69.5%2024 | 105.9%2023 | 55.2%2023 | 165.1%2023 | 70.6%2024 | 55.0%2023 |
| Out-of-school children | 5.9%2024 | 0.6%2023 | 15.6%2023 | 0.1%2023 | 3.3%2024 | 3.8%2023 |
| Adult literacy | 98.3%2011 | 97.3%2021 | 99.2%2021 | 93.9%2009 | 99.3%2022 | — |
| Youth literacy | 97.9%2011 | 92.2%2022 | 99.9%2021 | 99.5%2009 | 99.7%2022 | — |