Niti Ayog Report: Which Indian State Sending Most Students To US?

It is already known that India has been exporting a large volume of the student population to the United States for higher studies and better employment opportunities. For now, let us have a look at the Indian state with the highest exodus of student population to the U.S.

2016

Andhra Pradesh 46,818

Maharashtra 45,560

Punjab 36,743

Tamil Nadu 27,518

Delhi 27,016

2020

Andhra Pradesh 35,614

Punjab 33,412

Maharashtra 29,079

Gujarat 23,156

Delhi 18,482

The data clearly shows Andhra Pradesh as the largest contributor of students going abroad across all three years. The numbers peaked in 2018 for every major state, with Andhra Pradesh crossing sixty two thousand students. Punjab and Maharashtra closely followed, reflecting strong overseas education demand.

By 2020, all states saw a sharp decline, mainly due to the Covid pandemic, travel restrictions, and visa delays.

Despite the fall, the same states continued to dominate outbound education trends, showing that overseas study remains concentrated in a few regions with strong migration networks, coaching infrastructure, and financial backing.

It is interesting to note that one Telugu state Andhra Pradesh is on the top of the list, while the other Telugu state of Telangana is not even in the top five, which is a strange incident.