India continues to send a significant number of students abroad for higher education, with more than 13.35 lakh Indian students studying overseas in 2024. This highlights the country’s reliance on foreign universities despite having the world’s largest college-age population, as per a report released by NITI Aayog. The top five international higher education destinations for Indian students are Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany, according to the report.
Canada emerged as the leading destination in 2024, hosting around 4.27 lakh Indian students. Following Canada, the US accommodated 3.37 lakh Indian students, while the UK welcomed approximately 1.85 lakh students from India. Australia and Germany secured the fourth and fifth positions, with 1.22 lakh and nearly 43,000 Indian students, respectively. The report also highlighted that India boasts the largest higher education-age population globally, with nearly 15.5 crore individuals in the 18–23 age group.
The findings reveal a significant disparity between outgoing and incoming students. In 2024, for every international student coming to India, about 28 Indian students pursued higher education abroad, indicating a substantial brain drain. The report, titled ‘Internationalisation of Higher Education in India,’ also examined the inflow of foreign students into India using data from 2021–22. It observed that while outward mobility is increasing rapidly, the number of international students opting for India remains relatively low.
Canada, the US, the UK, and Australia collectively hosted approximately 8.5 lakh Indian students, who collectively spent nearly Rs 2.9 lakh crore on higher education during 2023–24. Additionally, the report noted that some smaller European countries have a notable share of Indian students. Latvia had the highest proportion, with Indian students constituting 17.4% of its international student population, followed by Ireland at 15.3% and Germany at 10.1%, based on 2020 data.
