The UNICEF report “Child Well-being in an Unpredictable World“ shows a contradictory picture of the situation of children in Bulgaria. Although a large part of them describe their lives as satisfying and easily create social contacts, statistical data show serious problems in the field of health and education. Bulgaria ranks among the countries with the weakest results in indicators related to physical health and academic skills, which calls into question the quality of the environment in which children grow up.
The data on physical health are particularly worrying. According to the report, 29.2% of Bulgarian children between the ages of 5 and 19 suffer from overweight or obesity. This places Bulgaria among the countries with the highest levels of childhood obesity (32nd out of 37 countries). The reasons are complex – unhealthy eating, lack of physical activity and excessive screen time. Children's free time is increasingly spent using phones, computers and social networks instead of sports and exercise.
An additional problem is the aggressive advertising of unhealthy foods in the digital environment, which influences eating habits from an early age.
In addition, Bulgaria also performs poorly in terms of child mortality. According to UNICEF data, 1.6 children per 1,000 die in the country in the age group between 5 and 14 years – a significantly higher share compared to many other European countries. The report points out that the main causes of mortality at this age are often external factors such as road accidents, which indicates insufficient safety of the environment in which children live.
However, the most serious problem remains education. Bulgaria is among the worst performing European countries in terms of academic skills.
Only about 30% of 15-year-old students have basic knowledge of mathematics and reading.
This means that nearly two-thirds of Bulgarian students have difficulty understanding texts and solving basic practical tasks. According to the PISA study, results worldwide have fallen after the COVID-19 pandemic, but in Bulgaria the problem is particularly pronounced. Distance learning deepens inequalities between children, as many students lack good technology, a calm learning environment or family support.
In Bulgaria, 71% of 15-year-olds are very satisfied with life, and the suicide rate for children between 15 and 19 is 2.8 per 100,000 children. As an example, in Germany, 68% of 15-year-olds are very satisfied, and the suicide rate in the same age group is 4.1 per 100,000. That is why Germany lags behind Bulgaria in this indicator, ranking 21st.
Despite poor results in education, Bulgarian children show relatively good social skills.
Around 79% of 15-year-olds say that they easily make friends at school. This shows that the social environment and peer relationships remain an important source of support. In addition, 71% of children in Bulgaria describe their lives as satisfying, which puts the country in a relatively good place in terms of mental well-being. This paradox can be explained by the fact that economic difficulties are widespread and often perceived as “normal”, which reduces the feeling of social isolation and difference.
The report also draws attention to the impact of digital technologies. According to the data, children who are often distracted by their phones during class show lower academic results. However, students themselves do not fully support strict phone bans in school. Most of them prefer solutions created jointly by teachers and students, which shows the need for young people to actively participate in making decisions that affect them.
Thus, the well-being of Bulgarian children is full of contradictions. On the one hand, they manage to maintain their social connections and their satisfaction with life. On the other hand, high levels of overweight, poor educational outcomes and physical health problems show that Bulgarian society is still failing to provide a sufficiently good environment for the development of the younger generation. Solving these problems requires long-term policies, investments in education and healthcare and more active support for families and children. As they say, we know this.
The question is what are we doing…