site.btaNumber of Students in Bulgaria Currently at 182,000 - Slight Increase from 2023, Major Decrease from 250,000 in 2012

In the winter semester of the 2024/2025 academic year, Bulgaria has 182,000 university students, a slight increase from the previous year, according to Georgi Stoychev, Open Society Institute Executive Director and head of the team behind Bulgaria's higher education institutions rating system, commissioned by the Education and Science Ministry. In an interview with BTA on the occasion of University Students Day, December 8, Stoychev noted that the number of students in 2012 was close to 250,000.

Stoychev attributed the drop in student numbers to an ongoing demographic decline, adding that the situation will worsen after 2028 due to a sharp decline in births after 2008.

Highlighting positive trends for Bulgarian higher education, Stoychev said that, for the first time in the nearly 13-year history of the rating system, the share of Bulgarian university graduates working in positions requiring higher education has surpassed 60%. This marks a considerable increase compared to 2015, when the figure was 47%, he added. In his words, each successive university degree level significantly enhances graduates' employment prospects.

He noted that this country is becoming increasingly attractive to foreign students, with nearly one in ten students in Bulgaria now being from abroad. In 2024, there are 15,737 foreign students in Bulgaria, representing 8.6% of all active students. This share has doubled over the past decade, according to data from the National Centre for Information and Documentation, updated annually in the rating system. Among international students, 9,000 come from outside the European Union, while nearly 7,000 are from EU Member States.

There are 3,147 students from Greece, 2,221 from the United Kingdom, 1,655 from Ukraine, 1,484 from Germany, 1,031 from Italy, 835 from the Republic of North Macedonia, 524 from Turkiye, 510 from India, 477 from Serbia, and 431 from Ireland.

The top fields of study for students from the EU in Bulgaria include medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine, and pharmacy. Nearly two-thirds of EU students choose to study medicine, making it the most popular field, with almost 4,500 foreign students enrolled. EU students also opt for transport, shipping, and aviation degrees.

Medicine remains the top choice for students from non-EU countries, with one in three students enrolling in this field. Dentistry ranks second.

Stoychev also spoke of trends in the distribution of students across higher education fields between 2015 and 2023. During this period, the number of students has increased in areas such as pedagogical sciences, health and sports, and natural and mathematical sciences. There has been a decline in enrollment in social, economic, and legal sciences. There has also been a slight decrease in students pursuing technical sciences.