NEET rate: Share of youth not in employment, education or training in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: NEET rate: Share of youth not in employment, education or training was 11.54 in 2025. ▼ Falling
NEET rate: Share of youth not in employment, education or training in Bulgaria, 2014–2025
Source: International Labour Organization.
Analysis
Bulgaria recorded 11.54 for neet rate: share of youth not in employment, education or training in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 6.0% on the previous year and down 37.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, neet rate: share of youth not in employment, education or training in Bulgaria peaked at 20.19 in 2014 and was at its lowest, 10.89, in 2024.
That places Bulgaria 34th out of 66 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 12 years of available data.
NEET rate: Share of youth not in employment, education or training in Bulgaria, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 | 20.19 | — |
| 2015 | 18.47 | -8.5% |
| 2016 | 18.2 | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 15.85 | -12.9% |
| 2018 | 13.84 | -12.6% |
| 2019 | 13.55 | -2.2% |
| 2020 | 14.71 | +8.6% |
| 2021 | 13.57 | -7.7% |
| 2022 | 12.55 | -7.5% |
| 2023 | 11.15 | -11.1% |
| 2024 | 10.89 | -2.3% |
| 2025 | 11.54 | +6.0% |
Bulgaria compared with similar countries
- Bulgaria's 11.54 is above the median for high income countries, which is 9.46, 1.2× the median. (48 countries reporting)
- Bulgaria's 11.54 is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 9.25, 1.2× the median. (36 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 16.68 | 13.55 | 20.19 | 6 |
| 2020s | 12.4 | 10.89 | 14.71 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Bulgaria
More work & labour data for Bulgaria
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes, annual -0.7248 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male, annual growth -0.7055 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female, annual growth -0.7441 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population, annual growth rate -2.5 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population, annual growth rate -0.5166 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Urban population 4,606 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Rural population 817.52 1000 No (2050)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Female 1,761 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Male 1,770 1000 No (2100)
- Population - Est. & Proj. — Total Population - Both sexes 3,531 1000 No (2100)
Frequently asked questions
- What is neet rate: share of youth not in employment, education or training in Bulgaria?
- Neet rate: share of youth not in employment, education or training in Bulgaria was 11.54 in 2025, according to International Labour Organization.
- What is the highest neet rate: share of youth not in employment, education or training recorded in Bulgaria?
- The highest recorded value was 20.19 in 2014.
- What is the lowest neet rate: share of youth not in employment, education or training recorded in Bulgaria?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.89 in 2024.
- How does Bulgaria rank for neet rate: share of youth not in employment, education or training?
- Bulgaria ranks 34th out of 66 countries with data for 2025.
- Is neet rate: share of youth not in employment, education or training rising or falling in Bulgaria?
- Over the last ten years it is down 37.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Bulgaria data come from?
- The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of NEET rate: Share of youth not in employment, education or training (current ILO definition - ICLS19). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
With the aim of promoting international comparability, statistics presented on ILOSTAT are based on standard international definitions wherever feasible and may differ from official national figures. This series includes only countries for which the 19th ICLS definitions are applied. This indicator refers to the proportion of youth who are not in employment and not in education or training. Youth not in education are those who were neither enrolled in school nor in a formal training program (e.g. vocational training). For statistical purposes, youth are defined as persons between the ages of 15 and 24 years. For more information, refer to the Work Statistics -- 19th ICLS (WORK) database description.