Enrollments of Indian students in the United Kingdom and the United States fell by 20% over the last two years. This decline contrasts with a previous global trend of increasing Indian student mobility abroad, during which India overtook China as the leading source of international students.

Indian student enrollments in the US fell by nearly 7% between February 2025 and February 2026. Data shows 76% of universities in the UK reported a drop in Indian student enrollments for their January intake. Sushil Sukhwani, founder of Edwise International, said, "The market is clearly showing signs of slowing down. We've already seen enrolments to the UK and US fall by 20% over the last two years, and I expect another 10-15% decline from those levels going forward."

The Indian rupee depreciated by more than 10% against the US dollar in the past year. Sukhwani said, "Many students who are already abroad have paid part of their tuition fees, but are now having to refinance loans and arrange additional funding to cover future instalments, with the rupee down more than 10% against the US dollar in the last year."

Pragati Priya, a content creator, said, "It has kept me up at night. I don't want to burden myself with a student loan that [I] will never finish [repaying]." She added, "I considered dropping my plans, but my parents and sister promised to support me. That's the only reason I'm able to take this risk."

Sudhanshu Kaushik, founder of the North America Association of Indian Students, said students hoping for skilled jobs sometimes work in the gig economy while studying and after graduation. "They arrive hoping to secure skilled jobs in the fields they trained for and end up working in the gig economy. Earlier, that work helped fund their education. Now many are graduating and doing it full-time," Kaushik said. He said, "The depreciating currency, the job market, the rise of AI, the visa issues and the current [Donald Trump] administration's policies have all combined to create a perfect storm. No one wins." Kaushik added, "The students suffer, the universities suffer, college towns suffer and the broader economy suffers." He said, "We are retreating from the gains we made in promoting higher education as one of our most influential and profitable forms of soft power."