In Kyrgyzstan, the number of students from India and Pakistan has fallen by 4,000

At the start of the 2025/2026 academic year, there were 17,585 students from India and Pakistan studying at universities in Kyrgyzstan. A year earlier, there were 21,720. Thus, the total number fell by 4,135, or 19 per cent.

The sharpest decline was seen among students from Pakistan. Over the course of the year, their number fell from 9,110 to 6,209 — a drop of 31.8 per cent. In fact, the number of Pakistani students at Kyrgyz universities has fallen by almost a third.

The number of students from India fell from 12,610 to 11,376. This represents a reduction of 9.8 per cent, according to data from the National Statistical Committee.

This decline has been ongoing for several years. The number of Indian students has been falling for the third academic year in a row. In the 2022/2023 academic year, there were 15,306 of them, and by the start of the 2025/2026 academic year, the figure had already fallen by 25.7 per cent.

The number of students from Pakistan has been falling for the second year running. After reaching 9,589 in the 2023/2024 academic year, the figure fell to 6,209. Over two years, the decline amounted to 35.2 per cent.

Against this backdrop, the number of students from China has risen significantly. Over the course of a year, it increased from 910 to 3,402 – a 3.7-fold rise. This growth has partially offset the decline in the number of Indian and Pakistani students.

Overall, the number of students from countries outside the CIS fell from 24,480 to 22,933, a decrease of 6.3 per cent. Despite this decline, India and Pakistan remain the largest countries in this group. Together, they account for around 77 per cent of students from countries outside the CIS.