The number of teachers in a country shows much about its level of education and civilisation. When we compare teachers to the total population, we can understand how developed a nation’s education system is.
General Ratio of Teachers to Population
According to the statistics from 1903–1904, there was one teacher for every 480 people in Bulgaria. This ratio gives a general idea of how many teachers served the population at that time.
However, when we look more closely at different nationalities, the situation changes slightly. The data shows the following:
1 teacher for every 464 Bulgarians
1 teacher for every 504 Turks
1 teacher for every 585 Greeks
1 teacher for every 256 Jews
These numbers show that the Jewish community had the highest proportion of teachers in relation to their population, while the Greek community had the lowest. This difference reflects how each group valued education and how organized their school systems were Private Tours Bulgaria.
The School Budget in Bulgaria (1902–1903)
The school budget also helps us understand the country’s priorities. The following data comes from the Direction for Statistics for the school year 1902–1903. It shows how much money was spent on education by the State and the local communes (towns and municipalities).
Type of School Paid by State (Francs) Paid by Communes (Francs) Total (Francs)
Bulgarian national 4,136,062 6,955,141 11,091,203
Bulgarian private — 25,543 25,543
Catholic — 1,880 1,880
Protestant — 5,239 5,239
Mahommedan — 7,255 7,255
Turkish 27,870 230,576 258,446
Tartar 316 11,384 11,700
Greek — 95,845 95,845
French and German — 42,549 42,549
Roumanian — 27,676 27,676
Jewish — 148,070 148,070
Lipovanian — 220 220
Armenian — 45,905 45,905
Gypsy — 90 90
Total 4,164,248 3,461,311 7,625,559
Education Spending per Person
When comparing the total population with the total educational spending, it was found that, on average, each person represented a cost of 2.04 francs in 1902–1903.
However, it should be remembered that teachers in Mahommedan, Bulgarian Muslim, and private schools were generally poorly paid. Despite this, the country continued to invest in education and expand its schools.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Bulgaria showed steady progress in education. The Jewish community had the highest number of teachers per population, while the state and communes together spent millions of francs to support schools. Although teacher salaries were still low in some areas, the overall effort to educate the population reflected Bulgaria’s growing commitment to national development and civilisation.