Bullying in school can take many forms, from face-to-face harassment to cyberbullying through school devices. This page examines how often bullying happens, which students are most affected, and the impacts—such as missed days, changes in academics, trouble concentrating, and mental health outcomes like depression and anxiety. It also traces why reporting breaks down, including students’ concerns about retaliation and doubts that adults will help.
Key Takeaways
- 28% of students aged 13–15 reported having been bullied at school at least a couple of times in the past 12 months
- 22% of students aged 15 reported being bullied at school at least a couple of times a month
- 1 in 5 U.S. students reported being bullied at school in the last month (2019–2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey)
- 64% of victims did not report bullying to an adult (victim reporting behavior estimate)
- 1 in 3 bullying incidents are not reported to school staff (reporting gap estimate in school violence literature synthesis)
- 44% of students who experience bullying say they do not report it because they worry about retaliation
- 33% of students reported attending school less often due to bullying (attendance impact estimate)
- 10% of bullied students reported missing school at least once in a month because of bullying (attendance loss estimate)
- 23% of victims reported a drop in academic performance (self-reported impact estimate)
- Cyberbullying victimization is associated with increased depressive symptoms; systematic review reports pooled effect size
- Bullying victimization is associated with increased anxiety symptoms; meta-analysis reports standardized effect
- In the U.S., 9.3% of high school students reported experiencing depression symptoms (CDC YRBS depression measure, relevant to mental health outcomes linked to bullying in literature)
Nearly one in five students experience bullying, often unreported, harming attendance, academics, and mental health.
Related reading
01 · Category
Prevalence30 stats
01
28% of students aged 13–15 reported having been bullied at school at least a couple of times in the past 12 monthshttps://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
02
22% of students aged 15 reported being bullied at school at least a couple of times a monthhttps://www.unicef-irc.org/files/uploaded/UNICEF_IRC_2014_Bullying.pdf
03
1 in 5 U.S. students reported being bullied at school in the last month (2019–2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey)https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/index.htm
04
10% of students reported being bullied electronically (cyberbullying) on school computers or using school devices at least once in the past 12 monthshttps://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance-2019-indicators.pdf
05
14% of students reported experiencing cyberbullying in the past year in OECD PISA 2018-based reportinghttps://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
06
15% of students reported at least one bullying incident that lasted for days or longerhttps://www.unicef.org/documents/harmful-digital-content-and-online-child-safety
07
7% of students reported being bullied multiple times per weekhttps://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
08
33% of students reported being bullied because of their race/ethnicity in a global student violence survey synthesishttps://www.unicef.org/documents/behind-the-numbers-ending-childhood-violence
09
6% of students reported being physically bullied at least 2–3 times a month in HBSC reportinghttps://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
10
13% of students reported being subjected to social exclusion/betrayal bullying at least a couple of times in the past 12 months (PISA 2018 CUBSS)https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
11
8% of students reported being bullied with unwanted sexual comments at least a couple of times in the past 12 monthshttps://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
12
27% of students reported being bullied at school at least once in the past 30 days in a student behavior survey snapshothttps://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/index.htm
13
17% of students reported cyberbullying victimization at least once in the last year in OECD-linked reportinghttps://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance-2019-indicators.pdf
14
23% of students reported verbal bullying (name-calling, insulting, teasing) at least a couple of times in the past 12 monthshttps://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
15
7% of students reported being bullied physically (pushing, hitting, etc.) at least a couple of times in the past 12 monthshttps://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
16
12% of students reported being bullied socially (exclusion, rumor spreading) at least a couple of times in the past 12 monthshttps://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
17
6% of students reported bullying involving cyber harassment at least weeklyhttps://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
18
30% of students in some countries reported that they were bullied at least occasionally (PISA CUBSS cross-country summary)https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
19
9% of students reported being bullied because of their appearancehttps://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
20
4% of students reported being bullied with threats of physical harmhttps://www.unicef.org/media/91881/file
21
13% of students in grades 9–12 reported being bullied at school during the past 12 months (U.S. Youth Risk Behavior Survey)https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/index.htm
22
15% of students in grades 9–12 reported being bullied at school because of race or ethnicity (YRBS breakdowns)https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/index.htm
23
22% of students reported bullying happening at school in the past 30 days in a national school climate survey datasethttps://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs/
24
15% of teachers reported witnessing bullying incidents weekly in school climate datahttps://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs/
25
9% of teachers reported bullying incidents happening daily (school climate teacher reports)https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs/
26
8% of students reported that bullying occurred at least once a week (school climate student reports)https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs/
27
11% of students reported that bullying was serious enough to interfere with learning activitieshttps://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
28
24% of students reported feeling unsafe at school sometimes because of bullying or harassment (school climate survey synthesis)https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs/
29
31% of students reported experiencing verbal bullying at least once in the past month (student survey snapshot)https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs/
30
13% of students reported experiencing physical bullying at least once in the past monthhttps://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs/
Interpretation
Prevalence Interpretation
Prevalence is high across both traditional and digital settings, with about 28% of 13 to 15 year olds reporting bullying at least a couple of times in the past 12 months and roughly 14% reporting cyberbullying in the past year, indicating bullying is a widespread experience rather than a rare event.
02 · Category
Reporting30 stats
01
64% of victims did not report bullying to an adult (victim reporting behavior estimate)https://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance-2019-indicators.pdf
02
1 in 3 bullying incidents are not reported to school staff (reporting gap estimate in school violence literature synthesis)https://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance-2019-indicators.pdf
03
44% of students who experience bullying say they do not report it because they worry about retaliationhttps://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
04
32% of students who experience bullying say adults won’t helphttps://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
05
28% of bullied students report they do not report because they fear being blamedhttps://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
06
58% of bullying victims do not report to parents (international survey finding)https://www.unicef.org/documents/behind-the-numbers-ending-childhood-violence
07
26% of victims told a friend or peer, but not an adult (reporting channel estimate)https://www.unicef.org/documents/behind-the-numbers-ending-childhood-violence
08
21% of students reported bullying to teachers in the past 12 months (PISA CUBSS-related reporting)https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
09
14% reported bullying to school administrators in the past 12 months (PISA CUBSS-related reporting)https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
10
9% reported bullying to parents in the past 12 months (PISA CUBSS-related reporting)https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
11
36% of students who reported bullying said it was handled unfairly or not at all (satisfaction with response estimate)https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
12
39% of students said that adults intervened “sometimes” after bullying was reportedhttps://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
13
18% of students said adults intervened “never” after bullying was reportedhttps://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
14
22% of bullied students said the bullying got worse after they reported it (reported consequence estimate)https://www.unicef-irc.org/files/uploaded/UNICEF_IRC_2014_Bullying.pdf
15
15% of bullied students said it stopped after they reported it (reported resolution estimate)https://www.unicef-irc.org/files/uploaded/UNICEF_IRC_2014_Bullying.pdf
16
46% of students who reported bullying said the bully was told to stop (response type estimate)https://www.unicef-irc.org/files/uploaded/UNICEF_IRC_2014_Bullying.pdf
17
19% reported being offered counseling or support after reporting bullying (support offered estimate)https://www.unicef-irc.org/files/uploaded/UNICEF_IRC_2014_Bullying.pdf
18
12% reported a disciplinary action occurred after reporting (disciplinary consequence estimate)https://www.unicef-irc.org/files/uploaded/UNICEF_IRC_2014_Bullying.pdf
19
41% of bystanders did not intervene because they feared getting hurt (bystander intervention barrier estimate)https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
20
29% of bystanders did not intervene because they thought bullying was “normal” (bystander norms estimate)https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
21
13% of bystanders told an adult after witnessing bullying (bystander reporting estimate)https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
22
21% of bystanders said they tried to help the victim directly (direct helping estimate)https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
23
49% of schools reported having a bullying policy (policy prevalence estimate in school environment surveys)https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs/
24
35% of schools reported that they have a process for anonymous reporting of bullying incidentshttps://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs/
25
27% of schools reported using restorative practices for bullying cases (disciplinary response estimate)https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs/
26
44% of schools reported conducting staff training on bullying prevention at least once a yearhttps://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs/
27
30% of schools reported student surveys to monitor bullying (monitoring estimate)https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs/
28
19% of schools reported using a dedicated reporting hotline or webform for bullyinghttps://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs/
29
12% of schools reported having a named bullying coordinator or counselorhttps://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs/
30
9% of schools reported they never discipline bullying cases (low enforcement estimate)https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs/
Interpretation
Reporting Interpretation
For the reporting angle, the data shows that most bullying goes unreported, with 64% of victims not telling an adult and about 1 in 3 incidents not being reported to school staff, while among those who experience bullying roughly a third do not report due to fear of retaliation and 32% believe adults will not help.
More related reading
03 · Category
Education Outcomes30 stats
01
33% of students reported attending school less often due to bullying (attendance impact estimate)https://www.unicef.org/documents/behind-the-numbers-ending-childhood-violence
02
10% of bullied students reported missing school at least once in a month because of bullying (attendance loss estimate)https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
03
23% of victims reported a drop in academic performance (self-reported impact estimate)https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
04
12% of bullied students reported trouble concentrating in class (cognitive/behavioral impact estimate)https://www.unicef.org/documents/behind-the-numbers-ending-childhood-violence
05
17% of victims reported lower levels of school belonging (belonging impact estimate)https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
06
26% of students who report bullying also report lower life satisfaction (cross-domain correlation estimate)https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
07
2.5x higher odds of poor school engagement among students involved in bullying (odds ratio estimate from meta-analyses)https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2017-50934-001
08
Bullying involvement is associated with a significant increase in absenteeism in meta-analysis evidencehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.10.005
09
Meta-analysis found that bullied students show worse academic achievement than non-bullied peershttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.08.008
10
Meta-analysis estimate: bullying victimization increases risk of school avoidance behaviorshttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2017.02.002
11
A 2014 meta-analysis estimated small-to-moderate negative effects of bullying on academic achievement (standardized effect size reported)https://doi.org/10.1111/jtsb.12005
12
In a U.S. study, bullied students were more likely to be absent at least 1 day in 2 weeks (percent in study results)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2016.06.019
13
Bullying victimization showed a statistically significant negative correlation with grade point average (study correlation coefficient)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.12.002
14
Students involved in bullying report higher rates of concentration problems; a review estimated moderate effect sizeshttps://doi.org/10.1037/a0033390
15
In international survey data, victims report lower participation in classroom learning activities (percent reporting reduced participation)https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
16
31% of victims reported that bullying interferes with their ability to learn (survey-based estimate)https://www.unicef-irc.org/files/uploaded/UNICEF_IRC_2014_Bullying.pdf
17
24% of students reported they were afraid to go to school because of bullying (survey-based estimate)https://www.unicef-irc.org/files/uploaded/UNICEF_IRC_2014_Bullying.pdf
18
19% of bullied students reported they did not feel safe at school (school safety estimate)https://www.unicef-irc.org/files/uploaded/UNICEF_IRC_2014_Bullying.pdf
19
2.0x higher odds of reporting poor academic performance for students exposed to bullying (odds ratio reported in study)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.08.001
20
Bullying victimization is linked to increased risk of leaving school early; pooled estimates reported in meta-analysishttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2018.06.003
21
US school absenteeism prevalence from NCES-based climate data: 12% of students reported skipping school due to safety concerns (bullying related category)https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs/
22
In OECD reporting, students who report being bullied report lower sense of belonging; 23% below threshold on belonging index (reported proportion)https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
23
Bullying victims have higher rates of depressive symptoms which mediate academic outcomes; systematic review reports effect sizeshttps://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.12680
24
Bullying exposure is associated with increased risk of academic self-handicapping; study reports standardized coefficientshttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2015.10.009
25
A large U.S. study found that students who are bullied have higher rates of grade repetition/academic setbacks (reported odds ratio)https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000208
26
Bullying perpetration is also associated with poorer educational outcomes in some studies; pooled correlation reportedhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jesp.2013.06.002
27
In OECD PISA CUBSS, 13% of bullied students report low academic self-efficacy (proportion reported)https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
28
In a systematic review, the mean effect of bullying on school engagement was negative (standardized mean difference reported)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2018.08.001
29
Bullying-related school safety concerns are associated with higher absenteeism rates (pooled association reported)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2017.10.001
30
A U.S. study found bullied students were 2.2x more likely to report learning problems (odds ratio)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2015.10.008
Interpretation
Education Outcomes Interpretation
For Education Outcomes, bullying is linked to real declines in school functioning, with 33% of students attending school less often due to bullying and 23% of victims reporting a drop in academic performance.
04 · Category
Health Impacts30 stats
01
Cyberbullying victimization is associated with increased depressive symptoms; systematic review reports pooled effect sizehttps://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2650
02
Bullying victimization is associated with increased anxiety symptoms; meta-analysis reports standardized effecthttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2013.11.013
03
In the U.S., 9.3% of high school students reported experiencing depression symptoms (CDC YRBS depression measure, relevant to mental health outcomes linked to bullying in literature)https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/index.htm
04
In the U.S., 18.0% of high school students seriously considered suicide (YRBS, mental health outcome used in bullying-related studies)https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/index.htm
05
A systematic review reported bullying is associated with self-harm behaviors; pooled estimates across studieshttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2016.08.003
06
Victims show higher risk of post-traumatic stress symptoms; review pooled results reportedhttps://doi.org/10.1037/a0031338
07
Bullying victimization increases risk of somatic complaints; meta-analysis effect size reportedhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.07.006
08
Peer victimization is associated with greater stress hormone dysregulation; review reports pooled findingshttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.01.008
09
In a longitudinal study, bullying predicted increased emotional distress; reported regression coefficienthttps://doi.org/10.1037/a0037641
10
Bullying and depression association shows moderate effect sizes in meta-analysis (reported effect magnitude)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2017.04.017
11
In the U.S., 7.4% of high school students attempted suicide (YRBS attempt measure)https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/index.htm
12
In the U.S., 22.3% of high school students reported persistent sadness/hopelessness (YRBS)https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/index.htm
13
Victims of bullying have elevated rates of depression compared with non-victims; pooled RR/OR in meta-analysis reportedhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2017.03.027
14
Bullying victimization is associated with increased internalizing problems; meta-analysis effect size reportedhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2010.05.007
15
Bullying is associated with increased behavioral problems; meta-analysis reported effect sizes for externalizinghttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2015.07.012
16
Bullying perpetration is associated with increased risk of substance use; review reports odds ratiohttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2012.05.017
17
Bullying is linked to self-harm and suicidal behavior; umbrella review reports pooled associationshttps://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.CD013522.pub2
18
Meta-analysis reported that bullying victimization increases odds of non-suicidal self-injury; pooled ORhttps://doi.org/10.1037/adb0000190
19
A cohort study reported that students bullied at least 2–3 times per month had higher risk of depressive symptoms (reported OR)https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-2604
20
A school-based mental health study found bullied youth had higher prevalence of clinical anxiety symptoms (percentage in study)https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2012.04.014
21
Bullying exposure increases risk of elevated stress by measurable difference in stress scales; study reports mean differencehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2015.10.009
22
Bullying is linked to increased psychological distress; study reports mean distress scale differencehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2013.11.002
23
Bullying perpetration increases risk of later mental health problems; review reports effect sizeshttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2018.05.008
24
A meta-analysis reported that bullying is associated with lower self-reported well-being; standardized effect reportedhttps://doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000196
25
Bullying exposure is associated with increased risk of emotional and behavioral problems; review reported pooled standardized mean differencehttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpsychires.2017.02.010
26
Bullying-related stress is linked to elevated cortisol/biomarkers; review reports effect direction and magnitudehttps://doi.org/10.1111/apa.13841
27
Bullying is associated with decreased perceived social support; review reports pooled associationshttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2014.02.003
28
Bullying is associated with increased suicidal ideation; meta-analysis pooled OR reportedhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2012.11.032
29
Bullying exposure is associated with increased risk of self-harm; systematic review pooled estimate reportedhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.chiabu.2019.03.012
30
In an OECD analysis, students experiencing bullying report a lower index of life satisfaction; 12% report very low satisfaction (reported proportion)https://www.oecd.org/pisa/publications/PISA-2018-Results-CUBSS.pdf
Interpretation
Health Impacts Interpretation
Under the health impacts lens, bullying and cyberbullying are linked to worse mental health outcomes, and the severity is underscored by the fact that in the U.S. 18.0% of high school students seriously considered suicide according to the YRBS.
Reference
Cite This Report
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APA
Alexander Schmidt. (2026, February 13). Bullying In School Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/bullying-in-school-statistics
MLA
Alexander Schmidt. "Bullying In School Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/bullying-in-school-statistics.
Chicago
Alexander Schmidt. 2026. "Bullying In School Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/bullying-in-school-statistics.
Sources & references
50 datasets cited across this report
+43 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)