Sofia, Jan 11 (BTA/GNA) – The number of foreigners enrolled in higher education in Bulgaria is increasing. In the 2021/2022 academic year, foreign university students added up to 16,525, which is 8,2% of all students in the country. In 2013, their share was twice smaller – 4.1%, show data from the National Map of Higher Education in the Republic of Bulgaria, which was updated on Wednesday by a decision of the Council of Ministers.
According to the document, Bulgaria is the EU leader in the share of foreign medical students.
The total number of students in Bulgaria is 200,781. This is less than half (48%) of the total capacity set by the National Evaluation and Accreditation Agency (NEAA) for all higher education institutions in the country, which have places for 415,472 students. Last year, actively enrolled students took up 53% of the capacity determined by NAEA.
The average income of university graduates in Bulgaria has almost doubled in the last 10 years. In 2013 it was BGN 868 per month, compared to BGN 1646 this year. Only 2.5% of the country’s university graduates in the last five years are now unemployed, compared to 4.15% in 2013.
Significant differences are reported between university graduates who have found employment in their vocational field. For example, 95% of medical graduates are working in their field of study, while only 21% of tourism graduates are in positions relevant to their education.
The updated National Map also reports other imbalances in the structure of higher education. The trend towards more women pursuing higher education continues. Their number is approximately 114,000 (57%), while men are around 86,000. In some professional fields, students are almost entirely women – especially in Education – 96% and Theory and Management of Education – 89%. Men have more than 80% share in Metallurgy, Electrical Engineering, Electronics and Automation, Energy Studies and Mechanical Engineering.
There are also imbalances in the territorial structure of higher education. The largest number of higher education institutions (28) is in the Southwest planning region, which includes Sofia. At the other end of the spectrum is the Northwest region, where only two higher education institutions are based and three others operate through affiliate local branches.
BTA/GNA