NEW DELHI– More than 1.3 million Indian students were pursuing higher education overseas in 2024, underlining India’s continued reliance on foreign universities despite having the world’s largest college-age population, according to a new report by NITI Aayog.
The government think tank said around 13.35 lakh Indians were studying abroad during the year, with Canada emerging as the most popular destination. About 4.27 lakh Indian students were enrolled in Canadian institutions in 2024.
The United States ranked second, hosting roughly 3.37 lakh Indian students, followed by the United Kingdom with about 1.85 lakh. Australia and Germany rounded out the top five destinations, with approximately 1.22 lakh and nearly 43,000 Indian students, respectively.
The report noted that India has the largest higher education-age population globally, with nearly 155 million people between the ages of 18 and 23. However, it highlighted a growing imbalance between students leaving India and those arriving to study in the country.
In 2024, for every international student who came to India, about 28 Indian students went abroad for higher education, pointing to a significant outward flow of talent.
Titled Internationalisation of Higher Education in India, the report also examined foreign student inflows using data from 2021–22. It found that while overseas enrollment by Indian students continues to rise sharply, India remains a relatively less attractive destination for international students.
According to the study, Canada, the U.S., the U.K. and Australia together hosted around 8.5 lakh Indian students, who spent an estimated Rs 2.9 lakh crore on higher education during the 2023–24 academic period.
The report also observed that several smaller European nations have a high concentration of Indian students. Latvia had the highest share, with Indians accounting for 17.4 percent of its international student population, followed by Ireland at 15.3 percent and Germany at 10.1 percent, based on 2020 data. (Source: IANS)
