The number of Indians studying abroad has fallen for a second year as Indian institutions like IIT Madras and IIM Ahmedabad establish campuses in Zanzibar, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai, signifying a shift towards global expansion.
The number of Indians heading overseas for study has fallen for a second straight year, according to data from the Bureau of Immigration, even as Indian universities and management schools expand their own international footprint. The government figures show 619,264 people declared study or education as the purpose of travel in 2025, down from 760,060 in 2024 and 894,758 in 2023.
That pattern marks a sharp reversal from the post-pandemic rebound. After 445,580 Indians travelled abroad for education in 2021, the number climbed to 752,100 in 2022 and then reached a five-year high the following year. The Ministry of Education has said the decision to study overseas is shaped by a mix of factors, including affordability, access to finance, exposure to foreign societies and aptitude for a particular field.
The annual departures should not be confused with the total number of Indian students already enrolled abroad. An earlier government annexure dated January 2025 put that total at 1,882,318, including 1,254,013 in universities or other tertiary institutions and 628,305 in schools. Canada remained the largest destination for university-level study, with 427,085 students, followed by the United States with 255,247 and the United Kingdom with 173,190.
At the same time, Indian institutions are increasingly moving in the opposite direction. IIT Madras opened its Zanzibar campus in 2023, becoming the first Indian Institute of Technology to establish a presence overseas. The institute said the campus began classes in October 2023 and offers programmes in data science and artificial intelligence. IIT Delhi launched its Abu Dhabi campus in 2024, while IIM Ahmedabad opened its Dubai campus in 2025.
The scale remains modest compared with the number of Indian students studying abroad, but the trend points to a broader internationalisation of higher education. IIT Madras said 35 students had graduated with MTech degrees from its Zanzibar campus and more than 100 were enrolled in its BS programmes. IIT Delhi said its Abu Dhabi campus, which offers nine undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral courses, had 171 students in the 2025-26 academic year. IIM Ahmedabad’s Dubai campus launched a one-year full-time MBA programme in September 2025 and had 35 students.
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