INDIA gets maximum foreign students from Nepal followed by Afghanistan while Karnataka is the favourite city for foreigners to pursue higher education in India, according to the data from country’s ministry of human resource development (HRD).
The number of males is higher than that of female students from foreign countries and Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech) is the most popular course among foreigners followed by Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA).
The total number of foreign students enrolled in higher education is 47,427.
Karnataka has the highest number of foreign students at 10,023 followed by Maharashtra (5003), Punjab (4533), Uttar Pradesh (4514), Tamil Nadu (4101), Haryana (2872), Delhi (2141), Gujarat (2068), and Telangana (2020).
"Foreign students come from 164 different countries from across the globe. The top 10 countries constitute 63.7 per cent of the total foreign students enrolled. Highest share of foreign students come from neighbouring countries of which Nepal is 26.88 per cent of the total, followed by Afghanistan (9.8 per cent), Bangladesh (4.38 per cent), Sudan (4.02 per cent), Bhutan constitutes (3.82 per cent) and Nigeria (3.4 per cent)," according to the All India Survey of Higher Education (AISHE) by the HRD Ministry.
"The percentage of foreign students from the US is 3.2 per cent, Yemen (3.2 per cent), Sri Lanka (2.64 per cent) and Iran (2.38 per cent)," it said.
Although the maximum number of foreign students comes from Nepal, the maximum number enrolled in PhD are from Ethiopia (295) followed by Yemen (149).
The highest number of foreign students are enrolled in undergraduate courses, that is, 73.4 per cent of the total foreign students, followed by post graduate with about 16.15 per cent enrolment.
"Among the top courses is B.Tech with 8,861 students with 85 per cent male students. The second popular course is BBA (3354), BSc (3320) and BA (2226). B.Pharma, Bachelor in Computer Application (BCA), MBBS, nursing and BDS are among the popular undergraduate courses," the survey report said.
For the annual survey, the higher education institutions were categorized in three broad categories- university, college and stand-alone institutions.
A total of 962 universities; 38,179 colleges and 9190 stand-alone institutions participated in the survey for the year 2018-19.
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A rescuer assists a resident through heavy mud following flash floods on August 27, 2026 in Trishuli, Nepal. A sudden flood swept through the Bhote Koshi River basin in northern Rasuwa on August 26, damaging settlements, roads and energy infrastructure as rescue teams searched for residents and foreign travellers reported out of contact. Hundreds were reported missing, as the death toll started to climb.Getty Images
Rescue personnel provide medical treatment to a child at an army rescue camp in Trishuli Batar, Nepal, on August 27, 2026. A sudden flood swept through the Bhote Koshi River basin in northern Rasuwa on August 26, damaging settlements, roads and energy infrastructure, as rescue teams searched for residents and foreign travellers reported out of contact. Hundreds were reported missing as the death toll began to climb. Getty Ima
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