A 2021 analysis by RedSeer Strategy Consultants tracks the rapid growth in Indian outbound via 2019, at which point nearly 800,000 students were studying abroad.

That whole is projected to more than double again by 2024 to reach up to 1.8 million outbound students, with total spending prediction at between US$75-US$85 billion by that point (a spending overlook that reflects expected inflation in tuition fees as well as living expenditures). This further downpour in Indian numbers comes on top of a period of considerable growth ushering to the beginning of the covid pandemic. So India rapidly became a top sender for leading destinations such as the US, Canada, UK, and Australia.

The countries mentioned above will remain among the top choices for Indian students going abroad. But observers anticipate larger volumes stream to an immense range of host countries, including Germany, Italy, China, Russia, Turkey, and Ireland. Many elements will continue to drive fast growth in Indian outbound, particularly the tremendous demand in the country for quality higher education programmes.

There are two essential drivers of that demand: students associate higher education institutions in those leading destinations with better academic quality and results. On the other hand, there remain considerable supply-side gaps in the Indian higher education system such that there commonly aren’t sufficient spaces available at quality institutions to meet the fledgling demand from Indian families.

Alongside is the growing capacity of Indian families to fund studies abroad. RedSeer says there has been an enormous increase in revenues in India over the past two decades. That has deciphered into boosting spending on post-K-12 education. Also, the public is becoming more aware of the advantages of studying abroad, and Indians have a rising exodus in famous destination countries- which is stoking applications abroad and student outflows.

The Indian market’s association with English-speaking destinations emanates in part from the prevalence and day-to-day use of English within India but also from the large and impactful Indian diaspora in the most prominent study destinations.

The report says that students from states like Punjab, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh have migrated abroad over a long period and have launched communities in the leading destination countries. They are also extra aware of the procedures for acquiring permanent residency in the countries & have access to more beneficial job opportunities as placements abroad are typically driven via networks rather than institutions.

While there is no suspicion that opportunities to work during and after studies are extensive drivers for Indian students, RedSeer indicates the emergence in recent years of an Experience-seeking student cohort, concentrated at an undergraduate level or in non-STEM disciplines. The plurality of these students belong to high-income families and are moderately less concerned with instantaneous work opportunities.

An August 2022 report by the Institute of International Education (IIE) and the IC3 Institute says there has also been a paradigm modification in the demographics of Indian students who want to pursue education abroad. In current years, smaller towns and cities such as Warangal, Tirupati, and Vijaywada, known as Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities, are the points of origin delivering large numbers of future Indian students wishing to study overseas. There is a tremendous appetite for high-quality international education and a passion for international mobility and employability. This tendency is likely to persist as the youth bulge in India continues to expand, not just in the capital cities but across the nation.