Recent data by the Indian government highlights this. While there were 7,500 Indian students in Georgia until July 2021, this number was 14,000 until March 2022. Armenia had 3,000 Indian students studying there and this number increased to 8,015 by March 2022.
Italy saw 4,634 Indians in its varsities until the same period in 2021 and it went up to 5,897 this year. Sweden and Switzerland also saw an increase between July 2021 and March 2022 from 2,000 to 2,500 students and 1,850 to 3,980 respectively.
While there were 4,000 Indian students in Poland last year, this year it went up to 5,000 this year. The Netherlands had 1,469 Indians in 2021 and 3,200 in 2022. Among Asian countries, The UAE, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, and Singapore were among the top countries hosting Indian students in 2021-22.
With a whopping 2,19,000 Indian students in 2021, the UAE was even more popular than destinations such as the US, the UK and Australia. Though this figure was 1,64,000 until March 2022.
Saudi Arabia with 80,800 and 65,800 Indian students in 2021 and 2022 respectively, was also a preferred choice. Oman with 43,600 students in 2021 and 39,550 until March 2022 also hosted Indian students. Singapore had just 1,500 Indian students as of July 2021 but this increased to 10,000 by March 2022.
Not just these, Cyprus, Finland, Hong Kong, Ireland, Japan, Latvia and Spain are some others with Indian students.
This data indicates that for Indian students, a foreign degree is very valuable and they are willing to explore newer destinations as well to fulfil this dream. As per recent studies, Indian students consider aspects such as post study work opportunities, reputation of a university or a country, quality of education, infrastructure, gaining valuable life lessons and skills, in-country experience, exploring new destinations, and the opportunities to live independently as key determinants to study overseas.
Close to 11 lakh Indian students are pursuing higher education from universities worldwide. Experts believe that since many universities have come up with their campuses in other countries, and many others are offering good scholarships and ROI students don’t mind exploring newer destinations. Also, the Indian government is making constant efforts to make students comfortable in foreign countries through various initiatives. “Our missions and posts remain in contact with the students through social media, open house sessions, cultural programmes etc,” informs a senior official from the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.
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