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UAE emerges as 2nd-largest source of foreign students in India
Nepal accounts for the largest number of foreign students in India, followed by the UAE, US, Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe. Karnataka hosts the highest number of international students
- PUBLISHED: Sun 12 Jul 2026, 2:32 PM
The UAE was the second-largest source country for foreign students studying in India in 2023-24, accounting for seven per cent of the total 58,134 enrolled across universities and colleges in the country, according to the Ministry of Education’s All-India Survey on Higher Education (Aishe). Students from 173 countries were studying in India, mostly in undergraduate courses.
Nepal accounted for the largest number of students (24.1 per cent), followed by the UAE. Other countries accounting for a significant number of students in Indian varsities included the US and Bangladesh (5.9 per cent each), Nigeria (5.5 per cent) and Zimbabwe (four per cent).
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The large presence of students from the UAE and the US reflect the significant number of NRIs living in the countries, with many of the parents sending their children to India for higher education.
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Karnataka had the highest number of foreign students, with 7,914 enrolled in its higher education institutions. It was followed by Punjab (7,902), Maharashtra (6,190), Uttar Pradesh (5,953) and Tamil Nadu (5,694).
The number of foreign students studying in India is a fraction of those in other countries. The US attracts over a million foreign students, Canada about 780,000, the UK around 730,000, Australia half a million and Germany 460,000.
But the number of Indian students heading to universities abroad has been declining of late. According to the Ministry of Education, over 900,000 Indians were studying in foreign universities in 2023. It fell to 770,000 a year later and dropped to a little over 625,000 in 2025.
The number of Indian students heading abroad has declined because of tightening of visa regulations and migration policies in many countries, limiting the number of dependents that students can bring to the UK and rising cost of higher education abroad.
The decline in opportunities in the US, Canada, and the UK is offset by a growing number of students heading to countries including Germany, France, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Russia.
To encourage foreign students to study in India, the government has allowed foreign universities to set up campus. About 14 foreign universities have been allowed under the new scheme and five have been permitted to operate out of GIFT City, Gujarat.
The government has set a target of attracting 200,000 foreign students by 2030 through its ‘Study in India’ initiative.
