Detailed Stats of Indian Students Studying Abroad [with Graphs]
As per the data shared by the Ministry of External Affairs (Government of India), there are an estimated 5.86 lacs Indian students studying in 86 different countries as on 28 December 2017.
Out of all the 5.86 lacs of Indian students studying abroad, more than 66% of students are staying in the USA, Canada, and Australia.
According to a RedSeer report, it’s estimated that 1.8 million Indians will be spending US $85 billion on education overseas by 2024.
In this blog post, I will be providing the complete year-wise details of Indian Students Mobility Statistics along with the tables and various interactive graphs.
Number of Indian Students Staying in Other Countries
You might not believe the fact that there are a total of 86 countries where Indian students stay for their studies.
According to data from MEA, the government of India, the total number of students from India who went to other countries was 145,539 in 2006 which grew up to 181,872 in 2013 and 586,183 in 2017 (as on 28 December 2017).
Here is a bar diagram that explains the rise in an interactive way:
As per the data from the government of India, 206,708 Indian students are studying in the USA out of the total 553,440 Indian students studying abroad which is the highest for any country. Canada is on second on the list with an estimation of 100,000 students while Australia holds the third position in the list with 63,283 students.
Below I have provided a complete list of those 86 countries with the exact estimated numbers of students staying as on 8 August 2017.
| Serial No. | List of Countries | Total Number of Students |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Armenia | 900 |
| 2 | Australia | 63283 |
| 3 | Austria | 300 |
| 4 | Azerbaijan | 9 |
| 5 | Bahrain | 27000 |
| 6 | Bangladesh | 1239 |
| 7 | Belarus | 343 |
| 8 | Barbados | 116 |
| 9 | Belgium | 600 |
| 10 | Bosnia Herzegovina | 2 |
| 11 | Brazil | 250 |
| 12 | Brunei Darussalam | 20 |
| 13 | Bulgaria | 60 |
| 14 | Canada | 100000 |
| 15 | Chile | 40 |
| 16 | China | 18171 |
| 17 | Cuba | 7 |
| 18 | Curacao | 279 |
| 19 | Cyprus | 1962 |
| 20 | Czech Republic | 550 |
| 21 | Denmark | 274 |
| 22 | Egypt | 150 |
| 23 | Estonia | 150 |
| 24 | Finland | 1000 |
| 25 | France | 5000 |
| 26 | France (Reunion Is.) | 3 |
| 27 | Georgia | 1500 |
| 28 | Germany | 13740 |
| 29 | Greece | 2 |
| 30 | Guyana (167) St. Kitts & Nais 11 & Antigua & Barbuda 02 (concurrently accredited countries) |
180 |
| 31 | Hong Kong | 365 |
| 32 | Hungary | 350 |
| 33 | Iceland | 10 |
| 34 | Indonesia | 17 |
| 35 | Iran | 1200 |
| 36 | Ireland | 2333 |
| 37 | Israel | 550 |
| 38 | Italy | 1163 |
| 39 | Japan | 1015 |
| 40 | Jordan | 4 |
| 41 | Kazakhstan | 2400 |
| 42 | Korea (Republic of) | 1151 |
| 43 | Kuwait | 79 |
| 44 | Kyrgyzstan | 4686 |
| 45 | Latvia | 700 |
| 46 | Lebanon | 4 |
| 47 | Libya | 9 |
| 48 | Lithuania | 900 |
| 49 | Malaysia | 1500 |
| 50 | Mauritius | 500 |
| 51 | Mexico | 100 |
| 52 | Moldova | 120 |
| 53 | Mongolia | 1 |
| 54 | Nepal | 3000 |
| 55 | Netherlands | 2500 |
| 56 | New Zealand | 30000 |
| 57 | Niger | 5 |
| 58 | Norway | 250 |
| 59 | Oman | 3000 |
| 60 | Philippines | 8500 |
| 61 | Poland | 2500 |
| 62 | Portugal | 41 |
| 63 | Romania | 150 |
| 64 | Russian Federation | 8000 |
| 65 | Rwanda | 20 |
| 66 | Saudi Arabia (Kingdom of) | 810 |
| 67 | Serbia | 1 |
| 68 | Slovenia | 21 |
| 69 | Singapore | 2435 |
| 70 | Slovakia | 18 |
| 71 | South Africa | 150 |
| 72 | Spain | 650 |
| 73 | Sri Lanka | 15 |
| 74 | St. Lucia | 231 |
| 75 | Sudan | 11 |
| 76 | Sweden | 2100 |
| 77 | Switzerland | 445 |
| 78 | Tajikistan | 650 |
| 79 | Tanzania | 1220 |
| 80 | Thailand | 297 |
| 81 | Turkey | 93 |
| 82 | Ukraine | 8000 |
| 83 | United Arab Emirates (Dubai) | 500 |
| 84 | United Kingdom (2015-16) | 14830 |
| 85 | United States of America (2015-16) | 206708 |
| 86 | Uzbekistan | 2 |
| Total | 553440 |
In order to make this large list more visual, I have created an interactive Geo-chart which you can take a look at below:
The extreme red and extreme green colours represent the least and highest numbers of students staying in that area respectively.
You can view the name of the country and the number of Indian students by hovering your mouse over the above interactive geo-chart.
Country-wise Incidents of Harassments/Attacks on Indian Students
| Serial No. | Name of the Country | No. of Students Harassed/Attacked |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 2 |
| 2 | Bangladesh | 1 |
| 3 | Bulgaria | 1 |
| 4 | France | 1 |
| 5 | USA | 1 |
| 6 | Italy | 3 |
| 7 | Poland | 9 |
| 8 | Guyana | 1 |
| 9 | Russia | 1 |
| 10 | Czech Republic | 1 |
| Total | 21 |
You won’t believe that the few of these attacks on the Indian students, who are staying in foreign countries for their studies, were kind of racial attacks too.
In 2017, the maximum number of cases (9 cases) of harassment of Indian students were reported in Poland.
Statistics of Foreign Students Coming to India
| Serial No. | Year | No. of Foreign Students Came to India |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2014 | 65602 |
| 2 | 2015 | 74061 |
| 3 | 2016 | 72542 |
| 4 | 2017 (till 27 Dec) | 69322 |
Let me make this data of “foreign students coming to India for their studies” more visual and interactive.
These numbers of foreign students are significantly less than the number of Indian students going abroad but, still, these numbers will certainly grow in the near future.
Recommended Read: Conventional Sources of Energy – Commercial and Non-commercial
Important Stats About Indian Students Studying Abroad
- There were a total of 586,183 (5.86 lacs) Indian students studying in the 86 different countries as on 28 December 2017.
- Out of all the students from India who go to foreign countries, more than 35% of students prefer to go to the USA.
- More than 66% of the Indian students, who go abroad, prefer to stay in the USA, Canada, and Australia. (As on Aug 2017)
- In 2017, a total of 21 cases of attacks/harassments on the Indian students in different countries were reported.
Indians going abroad for studies every year
The number of Indian students going abroad for their education has increased substantially. In the first three months of 2022, 133135 students left India for academic pursuits, an increase from 2020 when 259,655 students studied abroad. In 2021, there were 4,44,553 Indians studying abroad – an overall increase of 41% in just one year.
Indian students abroad 2015-2021
How much does it cost for Indian students to study abroad?
| Country | Bachelor’s degree (per year) | Master’s degree (per year) |
| Canada | $22,500-50,000 | $21,014-35,000 |
| United States | $26,000-50,000 | $20,000-35,000 |
| Australia | $14,393-32,384 | $15,832-35,982 |
| UK | $13,150-34,190 | $15,030-25,050 |
| China | $1,665-3,030 | $4,200-13,760 |
| Germany | $0-26,300 | $0-36,000 |
| France | $200-3,272 | $287-4,453 |
| Spain | $802-23,577 | $1,179-23,577 |
Sources:
- MEA – Document [Indian Students Studying Abroad]
- QUESTION NO.2755 INDIAN STUDENTS ABROAD
- Country-wise incidents of harassments/attacks on Indian students
- Indians students studying abroad in 86 different countries; 55% in USA & Canada
- Number of Indian students heading abroad increases dramatically over past decade
- More Indians going abroad for studies, but foreign students aren’t coming in
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