Canada, US and UK top overseas study choices for Indian students: NITI Aayog

Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom continue to dominate as the leading overseas higher education destinations for Indian students, followed by Australia and Germany, according to a report released by NITI Aayog on Monday.

The report, cited by PTI, stated that Canada emerged as the top international higher education destination in 2024, with 4,27,000 Indian students studying in the country. The US followed with 3,37,630 Indian students, while the UK hosted 1,85,000. Australia recorded 1,22,202 Indian students, and Germany hosted 42,997 during the same period, the report said.

It further stated that India remains the world’s largest source country of international students, with more than 13.35 lakh students studying overseas in 2024. The report also highlighted that India has the largest higher education age cohort globally, with 15.5 crore individuals in the 18–23 age group.

The report said that in 2024, for every one international student arriving in India, 28 Indian students went abroad, underscoring a significant brain drain.

On the inflow of foreign students into India, the report titled Internationalisation of Higher Education in India presented data for the academic year 2021–22. It stated that Nepal, Afghanistan, the US, Bangladesh and the UAE were the top source countries of international students studying in India during this period.

As per the report, Canada, the US, the UK and Australia together hosted 8.5 lakh Indian students, who spent Rs 2.9 lakh crore on higher education during 2023–24.

At the same time, Latvia was reported to have the highest proportion of Indian students at 17.4%, followed by Ireland at 15.3% and Germany at 10.1%.

Citing data recorded in 2020, the report stated that Andhra Pradesh was the leading source state for students going overseas, with 35,614 students, followed by Punjab with 33,412 and Maharashtra with 29,079 students pursuing higher education abroad.

It also noted a sharp rise in outward remittances under the Reserve Bank of India’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme, which increased from Rs 975 crore to Rs 29,000 crore between 2014 and 2024 for Indian students studying overseas.

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

It stated that the publication was the outcome of a collaborative effort between NITI Aayog and an IIT Madras-led consortium of knowledge partners, describing it as a pioneering study from the Global South.

The report drew on extensive qualitative and quantitative analysis, including responses from 160 Indian higher education institutions across 24 states through a comprehensive survey of more than 100 questions, as well as insights from 140 national and international participants at a National Workshop organised at IIT Madras earlier this year.