The number of Bulgarian students studying at universities abroad is likely to drop by 40% because of Covid-19, Monitor newspaper writes, citing forecasts by education consultancies.

Ministry of Education figures show that 2,669 secondary education diplomas were legalized by 27 July, compared to 4,683 in 2019.

Great Britain and the Netherlands are still the education destinations which attract the greatest number of Bulgarian students, followed by Austria and Germany. At the same time the number of young people applying to universities in Bulgaria has been going up. 10,664 young people have applied to Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski alone, around 3,500 more than last year.