Student inflows into traditional destinations decline: Data Point

Due to the admission slump during the COVID-19 years (2020-21), colleges in the U.K., the U.S., Canada, and Australia saw a surge in international student enrolments in the post-pandemic years (2022-23). This created several challenges in the host countries, including locals being priced out of the housing market. This led governments to curtail the inflow of students, causing a significant fall in international enrolments in 2024.

In contrast, many countries—especially Germany, France, Japan, South Korea, and Spain—did not follow this trend, with student inflows continuing to rise or at least remaining steady in 2024 as well. (Chart 1) Still, the U.K., the U.S., Canada, and Australia continue to host a bulk of the students.

The discernible shift in the choice of countries—whether forced or voluntary—occurs even as more Indian students choose education abroad. Between 2014 and 2023, the number of Indian students abroad grew from 172,000 to 707,000—a rise of over 310%. Chinese student numbers grew by just 19%, from 704,000 to 842,000. (Chart 2)

The share of Indian students in the U.K. rose from 11% in 2019 to about 22% in 2024, while the share of Chinese students dropped to 25% from over 40%.

In the U.S., the Indian share climbed from around 12% to nearly 20%, while the Chinese share dropped from over 30% to 23%. Canada saw a further increase in its already high share of Indian students, but both Indian and Chinese shares fell in Australia. (Chart 3)

Across the 27 EU countries, plus Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein, Indian students in 2024 outnumbered the Chinese, flipping the pattern from 2019.