A new report from NITI Aayog has confirmed the leading international education hubs for Indian students, with Canada solidifying its position as the most preferred destination in 2024. The data highlights a massive outflow of students and significant financial expenditure on foreign degrees.
Top Five Destinations for Indian Scholars
According to the report titled 'Internationalisation of Higher Education in India', Canada welcomed a staggering 4,27,000 Indian students in 2024, making it the undisputed top choice. The United States followed closely, hosting 3,37,630 students. The United Kingdom attracted 1,85,000 Indian scholars, while Australia and Germany rounded out the top five with 1,22,202 and 42,997 students respectively.
Collectively, just four countries—Canada, the US, the UK, and Australia—are home to 8.5 lakh Indian students. The financial implication of this trend is enormous, with these students spending a colossal Rs 2.9 lakh crore on higher education during the 2023-2024 period.
India: The World's Largest Source of International Students
The report underscores India's dominant role in global student mobility. In 2024, India retained its status as the world's largest source country for international students, with over 13.35 lakh students pursuing education overseas. This is supported by the nation having the world's largest higher education age cohort of 15.5 crore individuals aged between 18 and 23 years.
This exodus presents a stark contrast to inbound numbers. The report noted a significant imbalance, revealing that for every one international student coming to India, 28 Indian students went abroad in 2024, pointing to a concerning brain drain.
Regional Trends and Financial Outflow
The preference for studying abroad varies across Indian states. Historical data from 2020 cited in the report identifies Andhra Pradesh as the top source state, sending 35,614 students overseas. It was followed by Punjab (33,412 students) and Maharashtra (29,079 students).
The financial remittances under the Reserve Bank of India's Liberalised Remittance Scheme for education have seen a meteoric rise. Outward remittances surged from Rs 975 crore to a staggering Rs 29,000 crore between 2014 and 2024, reflecting the growing scale of investment in foreign education.
Interestingly, while absolute numbers are highest in major English-speaking countries, some European nations host a higher proportion of Indian students relative to their total international student body. Latvia leads with 17.4% of its international students coming from India, followed by Ireland (15.3%) and Germany (10.1%).
Inflow of Foreign Students to India
The report also examined the other side of the equation, detailing the inflow of foreign students to India based on 2021-22 data. The top source countries were Nepal, Afghanistan, the USA, Bangladesh, and the UAE. This highlights that while India is a major sending nation, it also attracts scholars from its neighbourhood and beyond, albeit in much smaller numbers compared to its outflow.
The findings of the NITI Aayog report paint a clear picture of the aspirations of Indian youth and the magnetic pull of universities in Canada, the US, and other Western nations. The data calls for a strategic evaluation of India's own higher education ecosystem to attract and retain global talent while supporting students seeking world-class education abroad.
