Why Are Over 1.3 Million Indian Students Choosing to Study Abroad in 2024?

A Surge in Indian Students Studying Overseas

New Delhi: A significant number of Indian students are pursuing higher education abroad, with over 1.335 million Indians enrolled in foreign universities in 2024. This trend underscores India's increasing reliance on international institutions, despite having the largest population of college-age individuals globally, as reported by NITI Aayog on Monday.

The report identifies Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany as the top five destinations for Indian students seeking higher education.

Canada leads the list in 2024, hosting approximately 427,000 Indian students.

Following Canada, the United States accommodates around 337,000 Indian students, while the United Kingdom has about 185,000.

Australia and Germany rank fourth and fifth, with 122,000 and nearly 43,000 Indian students, respectively.

The report also emphasizes that India has the largest population of individuals aged 18 to 23, totaling nearly 155 million.

These findings reveal a stark contrast between the number of students leaving India and those arriving. In 2024, for every international student entering India, about 28 Indian students opted to study abroad, highlighting a significant brain drain.

The report, titled ‘Internationalisation of Higher Education in India’, also examined the influx of foreign students into India, utilizing data from 2021-22.

It indicates that while the trend of students studying abroad is on the rise, the number of international students choosing India remains relatively low.

The study reveals that Canada, the US, the UK, and Australia collectively hosted around 850,000 Indian students, who spent nearly ₹2.9 trillion on higher education during the 2023-24 academic year.

Additionally, the report notes that some smaller European nations have a notable percentage of Indian students.

Latvia has the highest proportion, with Indian students constituting 17.4% of its international student body, followed by Ireland at 15.3% and Germany at 10.1%, based on 2020 data.