- In the last ten years, foreign students in India have increased by 47%, coming from 173 countries.
- Nepal leading; UAE, America, Bangladesh became the new major source countries.
- Most of the students are studying for UG courses in major states including Karnataka.
Now India is becoming a favorite center of higher education not only for its students but also for students from all over the world. In the last ten years, there has been a significant increase in the number of foreign students coming to study in the universities and colleges of the country. The interesting thing is that during this period, not only did the number of students coming to study in India increase, but now students from more countries than before are also turning to Indian institutions.
According to the latest data from the Ministry of Education, 58,134 foreign students from 173 countries were studying in various universities and colleges in India in the academic session 2023-24. If we compare the figures of a decade ago i.e. 2013-14, then at that time there were 39,517 foreign students from 158 countries enrolled in India. That means the number of foreign students has increased by more than 18,600 in ten years, which shows an increase of about 47 percent. At the same time, the number of countries coming to study in India has also increased from 158 to 173.
Talking about foreign students, Nepal continues to be the biggest source country for India. Of the total foreign students studying in India in the year 2023-24, 24.1 percent students were from Nepal. Even a decade ago, Nepal was at the first position, but then its share was about 21 percent. It is clear from this that the trust of Nepali students in Indian educational institutions has continuously strengthened.
Most students from here
However, the picture of other countries has changed a lot in the last ten years. In the year 2013-14, after Nepal, the highest number of students came to India from Afghanistan, Bhutan, Malaysia, Sudan and Iraq. But now this list has completely changed. At present, United Arab Emirates (UAE) is in second place after Nepal. After this comes America and Bangladesh, while Nigeria and Zimbabwe have also joined the major countries sending students to study in India.
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The new report also shows that India has now reached more countries than ever before. Now students from countries like Lebanon, Burkina Faso, Mongolia, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Chile are also getting education in Indian institutions. This indicates that the identity of Indian higher education is no longer limited to neighboring countries only, but its attractiveness has increased in different parts of the world as well.
Although there has been a change in the source countries of foreign students, the dominance of the top 10 countries still remains. In the year 2013-14, about 65 percent of the total foreign students came from the top 10 countries only. Even in the year 2023-24, this figure remained 63.8 percent, which means most of the foreign students are still reaching India from some selected countries only.
Most foreigners are studying here
According to the report, most of the foreign students coming to India give preference to UG courses. Of the total foreign students, about 73.6 percent are studying at graduation level. If we talk about states, Karnataka has emerged as the first choice for foreign students. Maximum 7,914 foreign students are studying here. After this are Punjab, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
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