Kathmandu [Nepal], July 17 – Nepali students remain the largest foreign student community in India accounting for nearly one in four international students enrolled in Indian higher education institutions during the 2023-24 academic year, according to data from India’s Ministry of Education.
The ministry’s latest figures show that 58,134 international students from 173 countries were studying at Indian universities and colleges in the 2023-24 academic year. Nepali students made up 24.1 percent of that total reinforcing Nepal’s position as India’s largest source of foreign students.
A decade earlier in the 2013-14 academic year India hosted 39,517 international students from 158 countries with Nepalis accounting for 21 percent of total foreign enrolment. The latest data indicate that the number of international students in India has increased by 18,617 or about 47 percent over the past decade while the number of countries represented has grown by 15.
Although Nepal has retained the top position, the composition of other major source countries has changed significantly. In 2013-14 Afghanistan, Bhutan, Malaysia, Sudan and Iraq ranked among the leading contributors of international students. By 2023-24, the United Arab Emirates accounted for 7 percent of foreign enrolment while students from countries including Lebanon, Burkina Faso, Mongolia, Mexico, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Chile also featured in India’s international student population.
Karnataka remained the most popular destination for international students hosting 7,914 students followed by Punjab, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
India launched its Study in India programme in 2018 to attract more international students. Since the 2019-20 academic year, foreign student enrolment has risen from 48,898 to 58,134, according to the latest All India Survey on Higher Education.
