M.M Advisory Services, a leading authority in international education, has unveiled insights in their latest report, the ‘M.M Advisory Indian Students Mobility Report 2023’. This analysis offers a dive into the landscape of international student migration from India and globally, capturing the essence of 2022 through statistics and evolving narratives.
In an analysis of authentic Government data for student movement to Major English-Speaking Destination Countries (MESDC) including data from Project Atlas, OECD, UNESCO, etc from March 2022 – December 2022 and collated by the end of 2023, the most revelation from the report is Canada’s meteoric rise as the preferred destination for Indian students seeking international education. Experiencing a surge in 2022, Canada shattered previous records by marking an 86% increase in Indian student intake over the past five years, nearly doubling its numbers since 2018. Notably, Canada’s Year-on-year growth rate in 2022 was an impressive 46.8%, second only to the UK.
“A combination of favorable immigration policies and Canada’s position as an alternative when other countries are less attractive has contributed to this phenomenon. By our estimates, 70-80% of the intake is for diploma programmes,” Maria Mathai, founder of M.M Advisory Services, said.
While Canada emerged as the ultimate choice for Indian students, stalwart destinations like the United Kingdom and the United States maintained their appeal. The UK witnessed a remarkable 49.6% growth in 2022, surpassing Australia significantly. Meanwhile, the US displayed a noteworthy 18.9% increase, almost reaching its 2019 student volumes despite challenges related to visa backlogs and campus security issues.
In contrast, Australia experienced a modest 0.7% growth in 2022. However, its slip from being the second most popular destination in the world to fourth place over the past five years highlights a shift in international student preferences.
MMA analysis is based on data released to the public by international think tanks and Government organisations that track international student mobility for source and destination countries including but not limited to Open-Doors report (for USA), IRCC (for Canada) HESA (for UK), among others.