Number of Indian students travelling abroad falls for third year

The number of Indian students travelling overseas for higher education has fallen for the third consecutive year, according to new figures released by the government, marking a sharp reversal after a post-pandemic surge in outbound mobility.

In a written reply to India’s upper house, the Rajya Sabha, the union minister of state for education Sukanta Majumdar said that more than 626,000 Indian students went abroad for studies in 2025. This figure was a drop from 770,000 in 2024 and 908,000 in 2023.

The data, drawn from the Union Home Ministry’s Bureau of Immigration, records the number of Indian nationals who departed the country with study or education listed as their purpose of travel between 2023 and 2025.

It amounts to a reduction of about 282,000 students in two years, roughly a 31 per cent fall from 2023 levels.

Separate data shared in March last year showed that the number of Indians studying abroad fell by 15 per cent from 2023 to 2024, with double-digit declines in all of the major English-speaking destinations, including a 41 per cent drop in Canada and a 27 per cent fall in the UK.

India has in recent years become one of the most significant contributors to international student enrolments in destinations including the US, Canada, the UK and Australia.

The latest figures suggest that the post-pandemic surge in outward mobility has reversed, with implications for institutions that have come to rely heavily on Indian enrolments.

While the parliamentary reply did not set out reasons for the downturn, the decline follows mounting turbulence in several major destination countries.

Visa policy tightening in Canada, Australia and the UK has already led to recruitment slowdowns and heightened uncertainty for international offices.

In the UK, universities experienced a record fall in overseas students, with Indian enrolments down 12 per cent year-on-year, following a 5 per cent decline the previous year, according to Higher Education Statistics Agency data released last month.

The figures also come amid rising tuition and living costs in major study destinations.

At the same time, the slowdown in outbound mobility coincides with India’s efforts to strengthen its own domestic higher education system under the National Education Policy 2020.

Ministers have pointed to infrastructure upgrades, changes to accreditation systems, expanded research initiatives and the growth of digital education platforms aimed at improving quality and access.

The government has also moved to allow selected overseas universities to establish campuses in India, including within Gujarat’s Gift City financial hub.

The policy is part of a broader strategy to expand access to what it describes as global-standard education within the country.

tash.mosheim@timeshighereducation.com