An estimated 17 million Indians were living abroad in 2017, which made India the largest source country for international migrants globally.
Analysis from the United Nations Department of Economic Affairs data by IndiaSpend reveals that approximately 7 million Indians were living abroad in 1990, rising to 17 million in 2017.
India's income per capita increased by 522 %, from $1,134 USD to $7,055 USD over the same period, giving people greater flexibility to travel overseas to peruse higher study and employment opportunities.
A smiling family preparing for charity run in park Source: Getty Images
According to a report by the Asian Development Bank, the same period has experienced low migration from unskilled workers. An estimated 391,000 people left India in 2017 which was almost half the number in 2011 with 637,000.
Generally, international emigration rises with the economic development as more people start travelling abroad and reduces when countries reach upper-middle income status.
The Economic Times reports that Indians living in Qatar increased 82,669 per cent - from 2,738 to 2.2 million in 27 years, more than in any other country.
Young man with Indian origins living in London, United Kingdom Source: Getty Images
Oman (688 %)and the United Arab Emirates (622 %) also feature in the top 10 countries for the largest increases in Indian residents between 1990 to 2017.
As the Gulf countries embark on large-scale development projects, job seekers from the South Asian countries migrate there for employment. However, declining crude oil prices and cuts on construction projects have slowed down migration from India.
On the other hand, Sweden, Netherlands and Norway have seen their Indian population grow by 42, 66 and 56 % respectively from 2010 to 2017. Cheaper education and job opportunities attract students and job seekers to settle there.
A Young businessman of Indian origin living in abroad. Source: Getty Images
"For example, Germany has free education and there's potential to land a job in the country after university too, so you are seeing a shift in migration," said Seeta Sharma, Technical Officer (ILO) for EU - India Cooperation and Dialogue on Migration and Mobility to IndiaSpend.
With 17 million people of Indian origin living overseas, India has received close to $70 billion USD from remittances in the country's banks accounts, the largest remittance received by any country in the world in 2017.
