Which foreign countries, Indian students prefer for study abroad? MEA data reveals

Indian students abroad from 2022 to 2025 (Source: MEA data)

The top three destinations in 2025 across both schooling and university education were the United Arab Emirates (2,53,832 students), the United States (2,55,447 students), and Canada (4,27,085 students), making them the largest hubs of Indian students globally.

MEA data shows a trend, that the number of Indian students in higher education overseas had risen consistently between 2022 and 2024. In 2022, there were 7.5 lakh students abroad in universities; this increased to 9.3 lakh in 2023 and reached a peak of 13.3 lakh in 2024. In contrast, the 2025 figure of 12.54 lakh shows a drop from last year, marking the first decline after three years of steady growth. This reversal comes at a time when several major destination countries have undergone significant policy shifts and diplomatic fluctuations affecting Indian student mobility over the past two years.

Country-wise 2025 figures indicate that Canada continued to host the largest number of Indian students in universities and other tertiary institutions, with 4,27,085 enrolled. The United States followed with 2,55,247 students, and the United Kingdom had 1,73,190 students in higher education. Other major higher-education hubs included Australia with 1,38,579, Germany with 49,483, Georgia with 16,000, Kyrgyzstan with 16,500, and Russia with 27,000.

Several Gulf countries accounted for large volumes of school-level enrolments, especially the UAE with 2,47,325 school students, Saudi Arabia with 75,000, Qatar with 47,846, Kuwait with 50,000, and Oman with 44,547. These nations host substantial Indian expatriate populations, which explains the high levels of school attendance recorded for the first time in the MEA’s dataset.

How school-enrolment data changes cumulative figure significantly

The inclusion of school-level data significantly reshapes the profile of Indians abroad. For example, in the UAE, only 6,507 students were in universities in 2025, while school enrolments accounted for more than 2.47 lakh of the total, taking the country’s overall figure to 2,53,832, making it one of the largest Indian student hubs worldwide.

Similarly, Qatar’s numbers, 49,346 in total, were overwhelmingly driven by school education. In contrast, countries such as Canada, the US, the UK, Australia, and Germany remain university-dominated destinations with negligible school presence.

Why the declining numbers in university-level students?

While the key trend visible from the 2025 data is the decline in higher-education mobility compared to 2024, even though the overall number appears higher due to the addition of school figures. This dip may be shaped by several factors that affected the Indian student movement in the last two years, including the prolonged India–Canada diplomatic tensions beginning in 2023 and policy uncertainties around US immigration.

The United Kingdom also introduced stricter study visa and dependent visa rules during this period, which directly influenced postgraduate intakes from India. Meanwhile, Australia implemented tighter financial requirements and scrutiny measures that slowed student flows.