Canada, the USA, the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany have emerged as the most preferred overseas study destinations for Indian students, according to a new report released by NITI Aayog on Monday. The report highlights a strong rise in the number of Indians pursuing higher education abroad, with five countries leading the list.
In 2024, Canada hosted the highest number of Indian students, with around 4.27 lakh enrolled in its institutions. The United States followed closely, attracting nearly 3.38 lakh students from India. The United Kingdom stood third with about 1.85 lakh Indian students, while Australia and Germany recorded enrolments of 1.22 lakh and nearly 43,000 students respectively, PTI reported.
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The report noted that India continues to be the world’s largest source of international students. More than 13.35 lakh Indian students were studying overseas in 2024. It also pointed out that India has the biggest population of young people in the higher education age group of 18 to 23 years, estimated at 15.5 crore.
"In 2024, for every 1 international student coming to India, 28 Indian students went abroad, underscoring a significant brain drain for the country," it said.
{{/usCountry}}"In 2024, for every 1 international student coming to India, 28 Indian students went abroad, underscoring a significant brain drain for the country," it said.
{{/usCountry}}On the other hand, the report also examined the inflow of foreign students into India. Titled ‘Internationalisation of Higher Education in India’, the study presented data for the academic year 2021–22.
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During this period, Nepal emerged as the top source country for international students in India. It was followed by Afghanistan, the United States, Bangladesh and the United Arab Emirates, the report said.
As per the report, Canada, the US, UK and Australia host 8.5 lakh Indian students who spent ₹2.9 lakh crore on higher education in 2023-2024.
At the same time, Latvia has the highest 17.4 per cent of Indian students, followed by Ireland, hosting 15.3 per cent, and Germany, 10.1 per cent.
The report, citing numbers recorded in 2020, said that among states, Andhra Pradesh was the top source with 35,614 students going overseas, followed by Punjab, which sent 33,412, and Maharashtra 29,079 students for higher education.
It noted a surge in outward remittances from ₹975 crore to ₹29,000 crore during 2014–24 under the RBI's Liberalised Remittance Scheme for Indian students studying abroad.
(With PTI inputs)