About 28% of students aged 13 to 15 report being bullied at school at least a couple of times in the past 12 months. Another 22% of students aged 15 report being bullied at least a couple of times a month. Silence is common, with 64% of victims not telling an adult about what happened.
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)
About one in five students report being bullied at school, and most never tell an adult.
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 months
02
22% of students aged 15 reported being bullied at school at least a couple of times a month
03
1 in 5 U.S. students reported being bullied at school in the last month (2019–2021 Youth Risk Behavior Survey)
04
10% of students reported being bullied electronically (cyberbullying) on school computers or using school devices at least once in the past 12 months
05
14% of students reported experiencing cyberbullying in the past year in OECD PISA 2018-based reporting
06
15% of students reported at least one bullying incident that lasted for days or longer
07
7% of students reported being bullied multiple times per week
08
33% of students reported being bullied because of their race/ethnicity in a global student violence survey synthesis
09
6% of students reported being physically bullied at least 2–3 times a month in HBSC reporting
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)
11
8% of students reported being bullied with unwanted sexual comments at least a couple of times in the past 12 months
12
27% of students reported being bullied at school at least once in the past 30 days in a student behavior survey snapshot
13
17% of students reported cyberbullying victimization at least once in the last year in OECD-linked reporting
14
23% of students reported verbal bullying (name-calling, insulting, teasing) at least a couple of times in the past 12 months
15
7% of students reported being bullied physically (pushing, hitting, etc.) at least a couple of times in the past 12 months
16
12% of students reported being bullied socially (exclusion, rumor spreading) at least a couple of times in the past 12 months
17
6% of students reported bullying involving cyber harassment at least weekly
18
30% of students in some countries reported that they were bullied at least occasionally (PISA CUBSS cross-country summary)
19
9% of students reported being bullied because of their appearance
20
4% of students reported being bullied with threats of physical harm
21
13% of students in grades 9–12 reported being bullied at school during the past 12 months (U.S. Youth Risk Behavior Survey)
22
15% of students in grades 9–12 reported being bullied at school because of race or ethnicity (YRBS breakdowns)
23
22% of students reported bullying happening at school in the past 30 days in a national school climate survey dataset
24
15% of teachers reported witnessing bullying incidents weekly in school climate data
25
9% of teachers reported bullying incidents happening daily (school climate teacher reports)
26
8% of students reported that bullying occurred at least once a week (school climate student reports)
27
11% of students reported that bullying was serious enough to interfere with learning activities
28
24% of students reported feeling unsafe at school sometimes because of bullying or harassment (school climate survey synthesis)
29
31% of students reported experiencing verbal bullying at least once in the past month (student survey snapshot)
30
13% of students reported experiencing physical bullying at least once in the past month
Interpretation
Prevalence Interpretation
Across these studies, bullying remains common and persistent, with about 28% of students aged 13–15 reporting being bullied at least a couple of times in the past year and smaller but still significant shares reporting frequent harm such as 7% being bullied multiple times per week and 6% experiencing cyberbullying at least once per week.
02 · Category
Reporting30 stats
01
64% of victims did not report bullying to an adult (victim reporting behavior estimate)
02
1 in 3 bullying incidents are not reported to school staff (reporting gap estimate in school violence literature synthesis)
03
44% of students who experience bullying say they do not report it because they worry about retaliation
04
32% of students who experience bullying say adults won’t help
05
28% of bullied students report they do not report because they fear being blamed
06
58% of bullying victims do not report to parents (international survey finding)
07
26% of victims told a friend or peer, but not an adult (reporting channel estimate)
08
21% of students reported bullying to teachers in the past 12 months (PISA CUBSS-related reporting)
09
14% reported bullying to school administrators in the past 12 months (PISA CUBSS-related reporting)
10
9% reported bullying to parents in the past 12 months (PISA CUBSS-related reporting)
11
36% of students who reported bullying said it was handled unfairly or not at all (satisfaction with response estimate)
12
39% of students said that adults intervened “sometimes” after bullying was reported
13
18% of students said adults intervened “never” after bullying was reported
14
22% of bullied students said the bullying got worse after they reported it (reported consequence estimate)
15
15% of bullied students said it stopped after they reported it (reported resolution estimate)
16
46% of students who reported bullying said the bully was told to stop (response type estimate)
17
19% reported being offered counseling or support after reporting bullying (support offered estimate)
18
12% reported a disciplinary action occurred after reporting (disciplinary consequence estimate)
19
41% of bystanders did not intervene because they feared getting hurt (bystander intervention barrier estimate)
20
29% of bystanders did not intervene because they thought bullying was “normal” (bystander norms estimate)
21
13% of bystanders told an adult after witnessing bullying (bystander reporting estimate)
22
21% of bystanders said they tried to help the victim directly (direct helping estimate)
23
49% of schools reported having a bullying policy (policy prevalence estimate in school environment surveys)
24
35% of schools reported that they have a process for anonymous reporting of bullying incidents
25
27% of schools reported using restorative practices for bullying cases (disciplinary response estimate)
26
44% of schools reported conducting staff training on bullying prevention at least once a year
27
30% of schools reported student surveys to monitor bullying (monitoring estimate)
28
19% of schools reported using a dedicated reporting hotline or webform for bullying
29
12% of schools reported having a named bullying coordinator or counselor
30
9% of schools reported they never discipline bullying cases (low enforcement estimate)
Interpretation
Reporting Interpretation
A majority of students stay silent, with 64% of victims and 58% not reporting to parents, and even when bullying is reported only 15% say it stops, meaning problems often continue despite disclosure and school response.
More related reading
03 · Category
Education Outcomes30 stats
01
33% of students reported attending school less often due to bullying (attendance impact estimate)
02
10% of bullied students reported missing school at least once in a month because of bullying (attendance loss estimate)
03
23% of victims reported a drop in academic performance (self-reported impact estimate)
04
12% of bullied students reported trouble concentrating in class (cognitive/behavioral impact estimate)
05
17% of victims reported lower levels of school belonging (belonging impact estimate)
06
26% of students who report bullying also report lower life satisfaction (cross-domain correlation estimate)
07
2.5x higher odds of poor school engagement among students involved in bullying (odds ratio estimate from meta-analyses)
08
Bullying involvement is associated with a significant increase in absenteeism in meta-analysis evidence
09
Meta-analysis found that bullied students show worse academic achievement than non-bullied peers
10
Meta-analysis estimate: bullying victimization increases risk of school avoidance behaviors
11
A 2014 meta-analysis estimated small-to-moderate negative effects of bullying on academic achievement (standardized effect size reported)
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)
13
Bullying victimization showed a statistically significant negative correlation with grade point average (study correlation coefficient)
14
Students involved in bullying report higher rates of concentration problems; a review estimated moderate effect sizes
15
In international survey data, victims report lower participation in classroom learning activities (percent reporting reduced participation)
16
31% of victims reported that bullying interferes with their ability to learn (survey-based estimate)
17
24% of students reported they were afraid to go to school because of bullying (survey-based estimate)
18
19% of bullied students reported they did not feel safe at school (school safety estimate)
19
2.0x higher odds of reporting poor academic performance for students exposed to bullying (odds ratio reported in study)
20
Bullying victimization is linked to increased risk of leaving school early; pooled estimates reported in meta-analysis
21
US school absenteeism prevalence from NCES-based climate data: 12% of students reported skipping school due to safety concerns (bullying related category)
22
In OECD reporting, students who report being bullied report lower sense of belonging; 23% below threshold on belonging index (reported proportion)
23
Bullying victims have higher rates of depressive symptoms which mediate academic outcomes; systematic review reports effect sizes
24
Bullying exposure is associated with increased risk of academic self-handicapping; study reports standardized coefficients
25
A large U.S. study found that students who are bullied have higher rates of grade repetition/academic setbacks (reported odds ratio)
26
Bullying perpetration is also associated with poorer educational outcomes in some studies; pooled correlation reported
27
In OECD PISA CUBSS, 13% of bullied students report low academic self-efficacy (proportion reported)
28
In a systematic review, the mean effect of bullying on school engagement was negative (standardized mean difference reported)
29
Bullying-related school safety concerns are associated with higher absenteeism rates (pooled association reported)
30
A U.S. study found bullied students were 2.2x more likely to report learning problems (odds ratio)
Interpretation
Education Outcomes Interpretation
Across these studies, bullying is tied to both learning harm and avoidance behaviors, with 33% of students reporting they attend school less often and 23% reporting a drop in academic performance while bullied students also show 2.5 times higher odds of poor school engagement.
04 · Category
Health Impacts30 stats
01
Cyberbullying victimization is associated with increased depressive symptoms; systematic review reports pooled effect size
02
Bullying victimization is associated with increased anxiety symptoms; meta-analysis reports standardized effect
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)
04
In the U.S., 18.0% of high school students seriously considered suicide (YRBS, mental health outcome used in bullying-related studies)
05
A systematic review reported bullying is associated with self-harm behaviors; pooled estimates across studies
06
Victims show higher risk of post-traumatic stress symptoms; review pooled results reported
07
Bullying victimization increases risk of somatic complaints; meta-analysis effect size reported
08
Peer victimization is associated with greater stress hormone dysregulation; review reports pooled findings
09
In a longitudinal study, bullying predicted increased emotional distress; reported regression coefficient
10
Bullying and depression association shows moderate effect sizes in meta-analysis (reported effect magnitude)
11
In the U.S., 7.4% of high school students attempted suicide (YRBS attempt measure)
12
In the U.S., 22.3% of high school students reported persistent sadness/hopelessness (YRBS)
13
Victims of bullying have elevated rates of depression compared with non-victims; pooled RR/OR in meta-analysis reported
14
Bullying victimization is associated with increased internalizing problems; meta-analysis effect size reported
15
Bullying is associated with increased behavioral problems; meta-analysis reported effect sizes for externalizing
16
Bullying perpetration is associated with increased risk of substance use; review reports odds ratio
17
Bullying is linked to self-harm and suicidal behavior; umbrella review reports pooled associations
18
Meta-analysis reported that bullying victimization increases odds of non-suicidal self-injury; pooled OR
19
A cohort study reported that students bullied at least 2–3 times per month had higher risk of depressive symptoms (reported OR)
20
A school-based mental health study found bullied youth had higher prevalence of clinical anxiety symptoms (percentage in study)
21
Bullying exposure increases risk of elevated stress by measurable difference in stress scales; study reports mean difference
22
Bullying is linked to increased psychological distress; study reports mean distress scale difference
23
Bullying perpetration increases risk of later mental health problems; review reports effect sizes
24
A meta-analysis reported that bullying is associated with lower self-reported well-being; standardized effect reported
25
Bullying exposure is associated with increased risk of emotional and behavioral problems; review reported pooled standardized mean difference
26
Bullying-related stress is linked to elevated cortisol/biomarkers; review reports effect direction and magnitude
27
Bullying is associated with decreased perceived social support; review reports pooled associations
28
Bullying is associated with increased suicidal ideation; meta-analysis pooled OR reported
29
Bullying exposure is associated with increased risk of self-harm; systematic review pooled estimate reported
30
In an OECD analysis, students experiencing bullying report a lower index of life satisfaction; 12% report very low satisfaction (reported proportion)
Interpretation
Health Impacts Interpretation
Across U.S. YRBS data and related meta-analytic findings, bullying and related victimization track closely with serious mental health outcomes, with 18.0% of high school students seriously considering suicide and 7.4% attempting it alongside high levels of sadness or hopelessness reported by 22.3% of students.
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 · attribution is report-level
+43 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)