India: number of overseas Indians by type 2025| ��ƽ��

Number of overseas Indians in across the world as of January 2025, by type (in 1,000s)

Characteristic	Number of overseas Indians in millions
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Release date

August 2025

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Region

India

Survey time period

as of January 2025

Supplementary notes

A Person of Indian Origin (PIO) means that a foreign citizen except a national of Afghanistan, China, Nepal Bangladesh, Pakistan, Bhutan, Iran, and Sri Lanka who once held a passport of India. PIO may also apply in other cases such as spouses of Indian citizens, Indian grandparents, etc.

NRI stands for Non-Resident Indians.

Citation formats

As of 2025, over ** million Indians were living across the world. Of this population, over ** million were non-resident Indians (NRIs) and the rest were persons of Indian origin (PIO). Indians form the largest diaspora in the world. 

Non-Resident Indians

An NRI is an Indian citizen living abroad indefinitely for employment, education, business, or other reasons. If an individual spends less than *** days in a financial year in India, they qualify as an NRI. NRIs can vote in India if they are physically present in their constituency during the voting period. However, NRIs are subject to different tax and investment regulations than Indian citizens.

Persons of Indian Origin

Persons of Indian origin refer to people who at some point held Indian citizenship or have Indian ancestry, with some exceptions. The Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) is granted as a lifelong and multipurpose visa to people of Indian origin. It does not confer political rights, but those with this visa enjoy parity with NRIs in economic, financial, and educational benefits such as the acquisition of property (with exceptions), admission to educational institutions, and eligibility for certain housing schemes.