WHERE INDIANS STUDY

India sends more young people to universities abroad than any country in the world, barring China, with English-speaking countries like the United States, Australia, Canada and Britain the most attractive destinations. While Germany, Russia, Ukraine, China and Malaysia have attracted Indian students for years, the likes of Spain are also admitting more Indian students than before. An international student survey released in the US in November showed that numbers of Indian students were on the rise, even though data released by the Ministry of Human Resource Development showed a marked decline in the numbers of Indian students going to the US between 2017-18 and 2018-19 and a rise in the number of Indian students in other countries. The government data did not include the most recent data for Britain, released by the UK’s Office for National Statistics on November 28, which showed a rise of over 60 per cent in the numbers of student visas granted to Indians. While over half a million Indian students are enrolled in institutions outside India, just under 50,000 foreign nationals attend university in India; many other foreign nationals are enrolled in the growing number of Indian campuses abroad, in countries such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Australia.

620,156

Indian students went abroad for higher studies in 2018-19, says the MHRD, a 21% decline from the 786,576 Indian students who went abroad in 2017-18

209,063

Indian students went to US universities in 201819, says MHRD—about half (48%) the number (437,836) who went in 2017-18—but US figures show 202,014 Indian students enrolled in American institutions, a rise of 3% from 2017-18

$8.1 BILLION

The “impact” of Indian students on the US economy in 2018, estimated by this year’s Open Doors survey, funded by the US state department; Chinese student impact: $14.9 billion

47,427

foreign students from 164 countries attended Indian institutions in 2018-19

30,550

Indians received UK student visas in 201819, up 63% from 18,730 in the previous academic year

172,600

Indian students went to Canada for higher studies in 2018-19, making it second only to the US; Australia is the third most popular destination (123,851)

4,675

Indian students went to China in 2018-19; around 23,000 Indian students are enrolled in Chinese universities, with 21,000 studying medicine