Indian students made up 43 percent of foreign pupil in Dubai for the 2024-2025 academic year according to a recent report.
Indians are followed by students from Russia and Pakistan which make up for 6 percent of international students said the report released by the Knowledge and Human Development Authority of Dubai.
China and Kazakhstan contribute 4 and 3 percent of students respectively. Overall, international students comprise 35.2 percent of Dubai’s private higher education population. According to the report published in Gulf News, foreign students make up 35.2 percent of the students in the higher education institutes.
As per the report, the city currently hosts 42,026 students enrolled across 41 private higher education institutions, including 37 international university campuses. The emirate has seen a sharp 20.4 percent increase in total enrolment in 2024–25, up from 12.3 percent the previous academic year.
The number of international students also rose, with intake climbing from 25.3 percent to 29.4 percent, reflecting the city’s growing appeal as a global education hub.
54 percent of internal students in Dubai opt for business studies, 11 percent choose information technology and engineering; media and design (6 percent) and humanities (3 percent). In terms of qualification levels, 53 percent of international students are pursuing bachelor’s degrees, while 37 percent are enrolled in master’s programmes.
As per the report, among 3,832 Emirati students, 62 percent are enrolled in bachelor’s programmes, 28 percent in master’s and 8 percent are pursuing doctorates.
These groups are further categorised as follows
