How many Indians are abroad, how many left last year, and how many are being refused — taken from government data, with every source linked so you can check it yourself.
Compiled 8 September 2026 · official MEA, IRCC and Home Affairs figures
Across 153 countries, as counted on 1 January 2025 — 12.54 lakh in universities, 6.28 lakh in schools.
MEADown from 9.08 lakh in 2023 and 7.70 lakh in 2024 — a 31% fall in two years.
Bureau of ImmigrationThe first decline after three straight years of growth. 13.3 lakh in 2024 became 12.54 lakh in 2025.
MEAThe toughest year in a decade. Indian applicants fared far worse than the average.
IRCCThe number of Indian students departing for study abroad has fallen for two years running. This is the single most important number on this page, and most consultancy websites will not show it to you.
Departures fell 31% between 2023 and 2025 — from 9.08 lakh to 6.26 lakh. Canada saw the sharpest fall at around 41%, the UK about 27%.
But 6.26 lakh is still above the 2019 baseline of 5.86 lakh. The market did not collapse. It re-priced risk: the countries that tightened rules lost volume, and Germany, Ireland and New Zealand picked some of it up.
Bureau of Immigration figures tabled in the Rajya Sabha
Student population by country, from the Ministry of External Affairs count as on 1 January 2025 and the corresponding national immigration data.
| Country | Indian students | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
 United States | 2,55,000+ | Largest single group — over 31% of all international students in the US. | MEA / Open Doors |
 Canada | 5,10,235 | Study permit holders in 2024, down from 5,33,305 in 2023. 2025 will be sharply lower. | IRCC |
 Australia | 1,96,108 | 1,38,579 in universities and 57,529 in schools. | MEA |
 United Kingdom | 1,73,190 | Higher education students. | MEA |
 Germany | 59,000 | Growing as students redirect from the Big Four. | MEA |
 Ireland | Rising | Named alongside Germany, New Zealand and France as gaining Indian demand. | ICEF Monitor |
The MEA count includes school-level students for the first time in 2025, which is why the headline total rose even as university enrolments fell.
This is the part nobody puts on a website. These are government figures, and they are the reason a well-built file matters more in 2026 than it did in 2022.
Indian study permit refusals, August 2025
Up from 32% in August 2023. The overall refusal rate that month was 40%; Chinese applicants faced 24%. India now has the highest refusal rate of any country with more than 1,000 approved applicants.
Source: IRCC data cited by Reuters
Indian higher-education refusals, February 2026
Against 3% for Chinese applicants. The overall offshore approval rate fell to 67.6%, the weakest in at least 21 years. India was moved to Evidence Level 3 — the highest scrutiny band — on 8 January 2026.
Source: Department of Home Affairs
Indian student visa refusals, indicative
Around 3–5% in recent reporting. In Q1 2025, 19,300 Indian main applicants were granted study visas, up 31% year on year. The pressure in the UK has been on dependants rather than on the student visa itself.
Source: Home Office reporting
Numbers are only useful if they change what you do. Here is what we take from them.
What people ask us when they see these figures.
Three policy changes landed at once: Canada capped study permits and tightened proof of funds, the UK removed dependant rights for most taught masters students, and the US saw a sharp fall in student visa issuance. None of these was aimed at India specifically, but India was the largest applicant group in all three, so India absorbed most of the impact.
No. It means preparation matters more than it used to. A 74% refusal rate also means one in four applications succeeded, and those were not random — they were files with seasoned funds, a course that matched the applicant's background, and documents that agreed with each other.
Reporting through 2025 and 2026 shows Germany, Ireland, New Zealand and France absorbing demand redirected from the Big Four, helped by English-taught masters programmes and lower total cost. That does not make them easy — it makes them less crowded.
The student population and departure figures come from India's Ministry of External Affairs and Bureau of Immigration, tabled in Parliament. The refusal figures come from Canadian and Australian government data reported by Reuters and Business Standard. Every source is linked at the bottom of this page so you can check it yourself.
Open any of them and check. We would rather you verified us than trusted us.
Compiled 8 September 2026. Immigration statistics are published on different cycles and are revised — a monthly refusal rate is not an annual one, and a population count is not a flow. Figures here are reproduced as reported, with the period stated. For a decision that matters, check the source and speak to us.
A refusal rate is an average. Your file is not. Send us your marks, funds position and timeline and we will tell you which side of the average you are on — and what would move you.
