New Delhi: More than 13.35 lakh Indian students pursued higher education overseas in 2024, underscoring India’s growing reliance on foreign universities despite having the largest college-age population in the world, according to a report released by NITI Aayog on Monday.

The report, titled ‘Internationalisation of Higher Education in India’, highlights the most preferred international destinations for Indian students, with Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany emerging as the top five choices.

Canada leads as the top destination

Canada attracted approximately 4.27 lakh Indian students in 2024, making it the most popular destination. The United States followed with 3.37 lakh students, while the United Kingdom hosted around 1.85 lakh Indian students. Australia and Germany ranked fourth and fifth, with 1.22 lakh and nearly 43,000 students, respectively.

India’s higher education-age population and brain drain

The report emphasises that India has nearly 15.5 crore people in the 18–23 age group, the largest higher education-age population globally. However, the data reveals a sharp imbalance between outgoing and incoming students. In 2024, for every one international student studying in India, roughly 28 Indian students went abroad, highlighting a significant brain drain.

While the study examined foreign student inflow to India using 2021–22 data, it noted that the number of international students choosing India remains relatively low, even as outward mobility rises rapidly.

Economic impact and European trends

Canadian, US, UK, and Australian institutions together hosted around 8.5 lakh Indian students, who collectively spent nearly ₹2.9 lakh crore on higher education in 2023–24.

The report also highlighted smaller European countries with a high proportion of Indian students. Latvia recorded the highest share, with Indian students constituting 17.4 per cent of its international student population, followed by Ireland (15.3 per cent) and Germany (10.1 per cent), based on 2020 data.

The findings underscore the growing internationalisation of Indian students, the economic significance of outward mobility, and the need for policies to strengthen India’s appeal as a global education destination.

IANS