With more than half of its population under the age of 25, Nepal has emerged as one of the highest senders of international students in the world.
The potential attracted representatives from 16 universities across major study destinations – including the US, UK, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, and Australia – to visit the Himalayan country as part of a delegation led by Acumen under its Nepal Rising initiative.
While the UK was represented by Aberystwyth University, Bangor University, Glasgow Caledonian University, University of Lincoln, University of Central Lancashire, University of Hull, University of Leeds, Suffolk University, and Cardiff University, Fordham University and Wayne State University participated from the US.
York University (Canada), the University of Canterbury (New Zealand), and the Australian National University also attended, representing their countries’ interests in diversifying their student markets.
With Japan emerging as a key destination for outbound Nepali students – surpassing 45,000 in 2023 – the University of Tokyo and Kyoto University of Advanced Sciences also became a part of Acumen’s recent initiative in Nepal.
According to Acumen, Nepal Rising helped the universities gain deeper insights into the South Asian country’s K-12 market, transnational education space and government regulations in the education sector, and also encouraged engagement with over 35 Nepali counsellors and agents.
“The engagement from Nepal’s key higher education stakeholders has been truly commendable, underscoring their commitment to fostering global partnerships,” Sagar Bahadur, executive director, India, South Asia, and Southeast Asia at Acumen, told The PIE News.
“We remain dedicated to elevating Nepal’s profile on the global stage and enabling the international education community to witness the country’s immense potential through our work.”
Countries like the US and the UK see massive potential in Nepal amid high visa approval rates in recent years.
In the 2022/2023 academic year, there were 15,090 Nepali students in the US, marking a significant 27.9% increase from the previous year.
“Nepal is one of Wayne State University’s most sought out markets for the talented students and interest in the USA,” said Fareed Shalhout, director of student global engagement, Wayne State University.
“We have a very strong ICR team on the ground in South Asia who’ve made traction over the past few years.”
Additionally, Nepal emerged as the UK’s sixth largest source of students in the year ending June 2024, rising by 63% over the previous year, despite an overall decline in visas issued to international students in the same period.
“Currently the UK is becoming a preferred destination for Nepalese students due to favourable student visa conditions,” said Karan Shokeen, principal advisor at the University of Central Lancashire.
“We recruit a good number of students from Nepal and we see a positive growth in the future.”
However, despite the popularity of traditional destinations, a range of factors have led to the changing trends in the country, according to consultants and education representatives in Nepal.
Currently the UK is becoming a preferred destination for Nepalese students due to favourable student visa conditions
Karan Shokeen, University of Central Lancashire
“After the pandemic in 2022, the study abroad market grew exponentially in countries like Australia, UK, USA and Canada,” stated Bigyan Shrestha, executive chairman, SoftEd Group.
“However from 2024, the student visas were tightened due to overflow of students and problems like the housing crisis, inflation rate started to rise. It appears now these countries are working on immigration controls including student numbers.”
According to Shrestha, while the next few years will be consistent for countries like Australia, US and UK to attract more students, students are now looking at alternative destinations like the UAE, Europe, South Korea and Thailand where the “visa processing and approvals are much easier and affordable”.
A report by ICEF last year highlighted that Nepal’s high outbound student mobility reflects a broader workforce trend, wherein remittances from migrant workers now contribute up to 26.6% of Nepal’s GDP – an estimated $11 billion in 2023.
The point was reiterated by Kshitiz Dahal, academic counselor, St Xaviers College, Nepal, who underlined how Nepal’s study abroad market is evolving with the country’s labour market needs.
“Students are now making strategic choices based on employability, financial returns, and global mobility, prioritising fields that offer strong career growth,” stated Dahal.
“Nepali students are also exploring France, Norway, Sweden, Hong Kong, China, Israel, Thailand, and Singapore. While India remains stable, strong returns on investment and emerging fields are drawing students elsewhere. The study-abroad market is evolving based on career and residency prospects.”
Emphasising how Nepali students are now investing in quality education, Dwiraj Sharma, CEO, Alfa Beta explained how they are venturing into non-traditional courses.
“Students are also looking beyond traditional fields like business and IT, exploring options in healthcare, engineering, and applied sciences,” stated Sharma.
“With rising tuition costs, affordability and scholarships have become major deciding factors.”
But Nepal’s rising interest in overseas education has not been without its challenges, with issues like brain-drain and lack of high-quality teritiary options in its own institutions coming to the fore.
A recent incident involving the death of a Nepali student at KIIT in India prompted strong criticism from Nepali consultants and educators, who condemned the country’s lack of a forward-thinking education policy, which drives students to seek better opportunities abroad.
But with countries like India and Sri Lanka partnering with more international universities, Nepal can look at similar such opportunities to retain its students.
According to Shrestha, the country is already looking at 30 or more franchise TNE campuses with 30,000 students approved by the Ministry of Education.
“Recently more than 1,15,000 students have left the country for abroad studies. Government is taking initiative to amend current education directives for TNE campus approvals which can facilitate branch campuses setup also in Nepal through FDI and offer world class university degrees.,” said Shrestha.
“Retaining not only the local students but to attract students from South Asia to study in Nepal due to its good weather advantage, affordable living, low crime rate and welcoming society.”
