The number of Indian students abroad fell in 2025
- Slightly fewer Indian students are choosing to study abroad than in the past, but the total number is still above a million
- Canada, the US, and Australia are welcoming fewer new Indian students than in the past
- Indian students’ demand for the UK has picked up significantly
- Indian students are now considering a wider field of potential study destinations
- Germany, for example, is now also a major destination for Indian students, with Indian enrolments there doubling over the last five years
More than 1.2 million Indian students were enrolled in higher education abroad in 2025 – a hefty number, yet a smaller one than in recent years. The 2025 data released by India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) shows that there were -5.7% fewer Indian students abroad this year compared with 2024, when the volume was 1.33 million.
The decline dovetails with a longer pattern of slower outbound growth from China. Educators in major destination countries have been mitigating the Chinese trend by leaning more heavily into recruiting in India. But the new data shows that relying too heavily on India for enrolment volumes is not without risk. The -5.7% decline is moderate, but it nevertheless highlights the ongoing need for diversification in recruiting overseas students.
More hesitancy in the marketplace
This year has been a challenging one for many prospective international students and their parents – in India and elsewhere. The stricter regulatory environments in Australia, Canada, the UK, and US (aka the Big Four) have introduced uncertainty into the marketplace. Policies affecting international prospects and current students alike are proposed and/or announced frequently, but not predictably.
As a result, destinations other than the Big Four are now much more likely than in past years to be seriously considered for degree programmes. This trend has been intensified by (1) a growing number of highly ranked universities across Europe and Asia, and (2) the expansion of English-taught programmes in those universities and regions. Germany, New Zealand, France, and Ireland are all seeing more growth from the Indian market as demand for Big Four countries weakens.
Trends in the Big Four
Canada remains the top preference for Indians according to the MEA data, followed by the US, UK, and Australia. But recent trends show the UK gaining on the rest of the Big Four in terms of share of Indian demand.
Canada: The number of Indian study permit holders fell from 533,305 in 2023 to 510,235 in 2024 according to IRCC data. When full-year data for 2025 is released, there will be a much more significant drop given that:
- Between January and August 2025, 9,955 new study permits were issued to Indian students – compared with 149,875 for the same period in 2023 and 76,930 in 2024.
- The proportion of Indian study permit applicants fell from 35% in 2023 to 17% in 2025.
- Indian students are being rejected at a higher rate than the average: data so far indicates that 71% of Indian applicants were rejected, compared to an all-country average of 58%.
United States: Enrolments of Indian students in US higher education institutions grew from 331,600 in 2023 to 363,020 in 2024. But in the first half of 2025, F-1 visa issuances to Indian students dropped by -44% compared with the same period in 2024. Chinese visa issuances also fell, but not as steeply (-24%). In contrast, the number of Vietnamese students receiving F-1 visas jumped by 20% in the first half of 2025 compared with the same period in 2024.
ApplyBoard adds: “If current trends continue, it’s possible Chinese students will become the largest incoming international student population in the US for the first time in four years.”
Australia: While Indian enrolments in Australia are now at an all-time high, commencements are declining. In the period January to September 2025, 139,720 Indian students were enrolled in Australian institutions (across sectors) – up +4% over 2024. The growth was fuelled by rising enrolments in universities, as shown in the following chart from MacroBusiness.com depicting trends in the first half of the year.
However, Indian commencements were down -8% in January–September 2025, and Australia also saw fewer new students from its number one market, China (-9%).
The Australian government is prioritising India as a talent pipeline through numerous recent agreements, but it is also applying greater scrutiny to Indian prospects given relatively historically high levels of fraud from this market. Australia’s vocational sector (VET) is particularly affected by high rates of visa refusals for Indian students.
United Kingdom: Indian enrolments are growing despite earlier signs that the Dependants Ban might depress demand from this key source country for UK universities. Up to June 2025, Indian students were granted almost as many sponsored study visas (98,014) as Chinese students (99,920), with an approval rate of 96%. In Q2 alone, visa grants for Indian students surged by +44% compared with a -35% decrease for Chinese students. Indian demand at the master’s level is extremely high, with 81% of Indian students approved for master’s level courses.
Alternative destinations on the rise
Germany has become a much more popular destination for Indian students. In fact, DAAD reports that the number of Indian students in German universities more than doubled between 2020–2024 – from 28,905 to 59,420. India is Germany’s number one market by a considerable margin, followed by China and Türkiye. Engineering is by far the top draw, with 60% of all Indian students in Germany enrolled in this field of study.
New Zealand: There are nearly 12,000 Indian students in New Zealand in 2025 (across sectors) – a stable number from 2024 after two years of very high growth (+99% in 2023 and +49% in 2024).
France: India is not yet in France’s top 10 list of student source markets, but it is close at 11th. In 2024/25, Indian enrolments in French universities grew 17% over the previous year to 9,100 students, and that growth is set to increase quickly: France has a goal of hosting 30,000 Indian students by 2030.
Ireland: In 2023/24, India overtook the US as the top international segment in Irish universities, growing 50% over the previous year to over 7,000 enrolments.
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