The British Council is pleased to share its research report on ‘Mapping international student mobility from India at the state and city level’. This research was commissioned with the aim to develop improved understanding and insights into the existing and emerging locations with growth potential for international student demand from India.

This research is based on analysis of information sourced through a variety of different channels, which was additionally supplemented by interviews with various stakeholders. Data on the home cities and states of Indian students in the UK was obtained from UK universities who volunteered to share information for the year 2021-22 and from Enroly for the 2022-23 academic year.  Enroly handles visa and confirmation of acceptance of studies data on behalf of UK universities.  The report also analyses information on the location of UCAS apply centres, which include schools, agents and other organisations supporting students in applying to study in the UK.

Whilst setting the context about the Indian states, the research explores links between urbanisation, economic growth and higher education provision.  Currently, India is home to five of the world’s 33 mega-cities which is defined by a population of 10 million or more. It was found that where states have higher level of urbanisation, those also have higher levels of higher education participation and also served students from other states.  Urbanisation also results in expansion of education related infrastructure such as international schools, agents, English language test centres, UCAS apply centres and sub-urban transport links. The associated section in the report presents mapping of states against these parameters.

Examining data on the home locations of incoming Indian students provides important insights into the top home states and cities.  The research finds that states in Southern India dominate overall, with Kerala as the largest single sender. Maharashtra and Goa are the largest sending states in Western India, Delhi and Punjab in North India and West Bengal in the East and North-East region.

Analysis of this data shows that Kerala, Punjab and Telangana have very high mobility rates relative to the number of students studying domestic tertiary programmes in those states.  Almost one student for every 100 locally enrolled students in Kerala, was recorded as having received a UK student visa or CAS; the true outbound mobility rate is likely to be even higher as the data collected for this research only covers a portion of all incoming Indian students to the UK.

At city level, the differences in the prominent locations that send most students to the UK found in data for 2021-22 and 2022-23 show shifting trends operating at substate level over last two years.

Analysis of UCAS apply centres shows that Maharashtra has the highest concentration of apply centres, with Delhi as another hotspot. As the UCAS system is aimed at undergraduate students, this implies that there may be differences in the top sending regions for undergraduate and postgraduate students.

Interviews with agents and UK universities shed light on newly emerging hot spots, but also signs of increased competition for the UK. For example, students in price sensitive locations like Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and the city of Lucknow are likely to be most impacted by any change to the UK’s post study work rules. Interviewees also pointed out that growth in student numbers in India’s largest cities is aided by internal migration from 2nd and 3rd tier cities and expansion of the metros which are subsuming neighbouring cities, for example, Delhi and the National Capital Region (which encompasses several districts in the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan).

Finally, the research looks into students’ decision-making factors, showing that students apply to institutions in multiple countries due to multiple uncertainties. Business courses are still popular amongst Indian students but is an ongoing shift in favour of STEM courses in light of the changing market conditions in India.  In terms of main funding sources for students, a third of the surveyed students had used bank loans. Maharashtra had the highest usage of bank loans, with 43 per cent of survey respondents from this state funding their UK study through a loan from a bank.

To sum up the overall analysis, research finds that:

• There is no sign of slowdown in demand for study abroad amid continued economic growth and urbanisation, favourable demographics and expanding availability of student loans.  No city in India has experienced a decline in student demand for UK higher education in the past few years.
• India’s megacities remain key drivers of growth, and exert a gravitation pull on nearby tier 2 and tier 3 cities due to infrastructure effects.
• A surge in UK-bound student demand from Kerala in 2022/23 appears to be subsiding but this (and other potential surges) need to be monitored more closely due to proliferation of sub-agents in need of training.
• UK is facing more competitive environment this year amid revived interest in Australia and price sensitivity of students based in several cities in Northern and Central India.