Canada, US, UK lead as top overseas education destinations for Indian students: NITI Aayog

Canada, the US, the UK, Australia and Germany have emerged as the top five international higher education destinations for Indian students, according to a report released by NITI Aayog on Monday.

In 2024, Canada was the top international higher education destination with a total of 4,27,000 Indian students visiting the country. This was followed by the US with 3,37,630 Indian students, the United Kingdom with 1,85,000, Australia (1,22,202), and Germany (42,997), the report said.

It further said that India is the world’s largest source country of international students with over 13.35 lakh students studying overseas in 2024. Also, the country has the largest higher education age cohort (18-23 years) in the world, 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.

About the inflow of foreign students in India, the report titled ‘Internationalisation of Higher Education in India’ presented the data of 2021-22.

Nepal, Afghanistan, the US, Bangladesh and the UAE were the top source countries of international students in India in 2021-22, it 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% of Indian students, followed by Ireland hosting 15.3%, and Germany, 10.1%.

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.

The report was released by the senior leadership of NITI Aayog, including Suman Bery, Vice Chairman, and V.K.Paul, Member (Education), among others.

The report is an outcome of a collaborative endeavour between NITI Aayog and an IIT Madras -led consortium of knowledge partners, is a pioneering publication in the Global South.

The report draws on extensive qualitative and quantitative analysis, including responses from 160 Indian HEIs across 24 states to a comprehensive survey comprising 100+ questions, and perspectives, ideas, and experiences from 140 national and international participants at a National Workshop organised at IIT Madras earlier this year.

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Key Informant Interviews were also conducted with experts from 30 international institutions across 16 countries, providing global perspectives.

Speaking on the occasion, Bery said that there is a business case and a diplomatic case for promoting internationalisation of higher education in India, especially as an instrument of soft power.

Paul positioned the report in the context of NEP implementation and India’s vision for Viksit Bharat 2047.

The report presents 22 Policy Recommendations, 76 Action Pathways, 125 Performance Success Indicators, along with nearly 30 Indian and Global Practices currently pursued.

The recommendations are aimed at improving 5 thematic areas including Strategy, Regulation, Finance, Branding, Communication & Outreach, and Curriculum & Culture for making India the global hub of higher education and research by 2047.