USA, UK, Ukraine top Study Abroad Destinations; Australia, New Zealand numbers decline
Number of Indian students going abroad is once again increasing as over 4.45 lakh students went abroad in 2021, while 2.60 lakh in 2020 and 5.87 lakh in 2019.
India has the second-highest number of students pursuing higher education abroad, behind China only, and this number is growing fast. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 7.5 lakh Indians were abroad to pursue higher education. United States of America (USA), Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany have been top destinations.
The COVID-19 pandemic and its various waves have changed the way education was delivered, it also affected the economy of some countries badly and they are still recovering from it. In the post-pandemic era are nations like the USA, UK, Canada, Australia still attractive to Indian students or some have been replaced by new destinations offering better education and career opportunities.
Looking at the number of Indian students going abroad in the past three years, Minister of State, in the Ministry of Education Dr Subhas Sarkar, while replying to a question on students going abroad, informed that over 4.45 lakh students went abroad for higher education in the year 2021.
As per the information provided by the Bureau of Immigration, Ministry of Home Affairs, the number of Indian students going abroad has been affected primarily due to the COVID-19 pandemic as it halved in the year 2020 compared to 2019, but again picked up in 2021.
Year
| Year | Number of Student went abroad |
|---|---|
| 2019 | 5,87,093 |
| 2020 | 2,60,312 |
| 2021 | 4,45,498 |
Are Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Philippines losing sheen?
Predominantly, the foreign destinations are driven by work opportunities, which include exposure during their education and job and career opportunities on completion of education, along with the quality of the education received.
As per the data shared by the government, only 64 students went to New Zealand in 2021, which was over 5300 in 2020 and more than 10,000 in 2019. Its neighbour Australia saw 8900 Indian students going there which was over 33,000 in 2020 and 73,000 in 2019. One important reason for a dip in the number of these two nations is universities are yet to allow foreign students on their campus.
The Philippines, which is one of the top destinations to pursue medical education has also seen a huge reduction in the number of Indian students. Only 251 students applied for immigration in 2021 compared to which was around 13,500 in 2019. Some of the medical colleges are yet to allow foreign students and they are conducting classes online.
Only three students applied to go to China in 2021, which was 19,000 in 2019; and 298 in 2020. Many of the Indian students who were pursuing MBBS and other courses in various parts of mainland China had to be evacuated through special flights in 2020 when the pandemic broke and China started imposing lockdown. These students are still waiting to go back and complete their education and earn a degree, as China has not decided on it yet.
The number of students going to Japan, France, Italy, Spain, Cyprus, east Asian nations like Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand and middle east nations has also dipped in the past two years. It would be interesting to see if there would be any change in these numbers in 2022 when countries have started to reopen their borders for international students bringing it to the pre-pandemic era.
| Country | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 73,808 | 33,629 | 8950 |
| China | 19,170 | 398 | 3 |
| Philippines |
13,479 | 4601 | 251 |
| Singapore | 15,419 | 4860 | 2664 |
| New Zealand | 10,297 | 5321 | 64 |
| France | 8495 | 4333 | 5293 |
| Malaysia | 4090 | 1121 | 567 |
| Cyprus | 3528 | 1511 | 162 |
| Japan | 1761 | 552 | 193 |
USA, Canada, Russia- Holding their fort
Canada and USA have been the top destination for Indian students due to the location of some of the leading universities as well the work and permanent settlement opportunities they offer. Prior to the coronavirus induced pandemic over one lakh, students were going to these two North American nations each year from India, this number has once again reached over one lakh students applying for immigration.
Russia is another important destination for Indians heading abroad to pursue medical education, the East European nation has seen over 15,000 students applying for immigration, which was around 16,000 in 2019.
Germany sees a good number of Indian students looking to pursue an engineering education and the number has been consistently rising in the past decade. In 2019 over 18,000 students went to study, which saw a dip during 2020, but again in 2021, around 16,000 students applied for immigration and an important factor is its free education.
| Country | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canada | 1,32,620 | 43,624 | 1,02,688 |
| USA | 1,22,535 | 62,415 | 1,25,115 |
| Germany | 18,034 | 9865 | 16,259 |
| Russian Federation | 16,545 | 1387 | 15,814 |
Biggest Gainers- UK, Ukraine, Mexico
Some of the nations which have gained traction in terms of Indian students going abroad have been the United Kingdom which just before the pandemic changed its policy to allow extra two years to foreign students, which has been implemented since 2021. As per the changed policy, international students can stay in the UK for 2 years after graduation with the new visa. From July 1, 2021, international students can apply to live and work in the UK for up to 2 years after graduating with the new Graduate visa.
The number of Indian students applying for immigration to the UK has doubled in 2021, compared to 2019; with close to 78,000 applying for immigration in 2021 while in 2019 over 36,000 applied.
Of all the foreign destinations, one nation which has sprung surprise is Mexico as over 1000 students applied for immigration in 2021, which was just 50 in 2019 and 13 in the year 2020.
| Country | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 36,616 | 44,901 | 77,855 |
| Ukraine | 13,911 | 6723 | 18,596 |
| Kyrgyzstan | 12,942 | 865 | 15,162 |
| Armenia | 1810 | 534 | 2796 |
| Mexico | 50 | 13 | 1068 |
Ukraine, which is not in good news these days and around 25,000 Indians had to be evacuated out of its various cities, that include around 20,000 students. Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia are other destinations that have seen a surge in the number of Indian students going to pursue higher education, mostly medical education.
Students aspiring to go overseas for education, now have plenty of other options than just USA, UK and Australia. With changing trends, students are exploring new countries offering low-cost education to get a degree along with job opportunities being offered by the destination.
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Abhay an alumnus of IIMC and Delhi University, has over a decade long experience of reporting on various beats of journalism. During his free time he prefers listening to music or play indoor and outdoor games.