Canada, US and UK top list of preferred study destinations for Indian students: Report

Indian students continue to favor a handful of countries for higher education abroad, with Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and Germany emerging as the top destinations, according to a new NITI Aayog report.

The study shows a sustained rise in outbound student mobility, with Canada hosting the largest number of Indian students in 2024 at about 4.27 lakh.

The United States followed with nearly 3.38 lakh enrollments, while the United Kingdom recorded around 1.85 lakh Indian students.

Australia and Germany reported enrollments of 1.22 lakh and nearly 43,000 students, respectively.

NITI Aayog said India remains the world’s largest sender of international students, with more than 13.35 lakh Indians studying overseas in 2024.

The report also highlighted India’s demographic profile, noting that the country has the largest population in the 18 to 23 higher education age group, 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," the report said.

The assessment also reviewed the inflow of foreign students into India under the report titled Internationalization of Higher Education in India, using data from the 2021 to 2022 academic year.

Nepal emerged as the leading source country for international students in India, followed by Afghanistan, the United States, Bangladesh, and the United Arab Emirates.

According to the findings, Indian students in Canada, the US, the UK, and Australia together numbered about 8.5 lakh and spent ₹2.9 lakh crore on higher education during 2023 to 24.

The report also noted destination-wise concentration, with Latvia accounting for the highest share of Indian students at 17.4%, followed by Ireland at 15.3% and Germany at 10.1%.

State-level data from 2020 showed Andhra Pradesh as the largest contributor to overseas student numbers, sending 35,614 students abroad. Punjab followed with 33,412 students, while Maharashtra accounted for 29,079.

The report further pointed to a sharp increase in outward remittances under the Reserve Bank of India’s Liberalised Remittance Scheme, rising from ₹975 crore to ₹29,000 crore between 2014 and 2024, reflecting the growing financial scale of overseas education.