Foreign students in India: Top preferred states and universities

India is famous for sending students abroad.  But when it comes to studying in India, we attract only 7% (seven percent) of international students.

Foreign students make up a very small proportion of students in India. However, statistics prove that the number is growing. The total number of foreign students in India for 2013 is estimated at 31 475 (Source: Unesco). The extensive details of the report are still awaited.

According to another study by MHRD, Karnataka alone attracts one-third of the foreign student population in India with 10,103 pupils. Andhra Pradesh follows second with 4698 students, Maharashtra third with 4369, Tamil Nadu with 2383 and finally Delhi, 1529. (Source: Annual Status of Higher Education of States and UTs in India, 2013, by Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), CII and Deloitte).

We decided to track the top Indian universities that attract the highest number of international students. Bangalore University and Mysore University emerged as the top choices, followed by Osmania University. Take a look at the following table: 

The leading countries of origin of international students studying in India are Iran, Ethiopia, United Arab Emirates, Tanzania, Nepal, Afghanistan, Saudi Arabia, China, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bhutan and Kuwait.