How many students leave Indian colleges and universities each year with a degree in Arts, Science, Commerce or Engineering? This report answers that using only the Government of India's own published records: the newest official figures, released by the Ministry of Education on 8 July 2026.
Headline finding
5.5×
For every engineering graduate, India's colleges produce about five and a half graduates in Arts, Science or Commerce.
45.9 lakh Arts + Science + Commerce vs 8.3 lakh Engineering & Technology, undergraduate out-turn, AISHE 2023-24 [1].
Download PDFMethodology & sourcesAuthor: Siddique AhamedData: AISHE 2022-23 & 2023-24, released 8 July 2026 (Ministry of Education)Published 11 October 2026
Executive summary
1.10 crore
students passed out of higher education at all levels
Arts, Science and Commerce together account for roughly 59% of India's undergraduate graduates. Engineering accounts for about 11%. Between the two latest surveys, graduate numbers in all three general streams fell while Engineering and Medical Science grew. Enrolment data suggests that shift will continue: Engineering has now overtaken Commerce in its share of undergraduate enrolment.
All figures come from the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE). The 2023-24 survey counts students who graduated in academic year 2022-23. Out-turn figures are based on the institutions that responded (about 92%), so true national totals are somewhat higher. Methodology and every source are at the end of this page.
Findings
Finding 1 Data
Arts alone produces nearly three times as many graduates as Engineering
At undergraduate level, Arts produced 24.4 lakh graduates in AISHE 2023-24. Science followed with 11.4 lakh, Commerce with 10.1 lakh and Engineering & Technology with 8.3 lakh. Education and Medical Science were the next largest.
24.4 lakh
undergraduates graduated in Arts, about 2.9 times Engineering's 8.3 lakh
Undergraduate out-turn by discipline, AISHE 2023-24 (lakh students)
Arts
24.4
Science
11.4
Commerce
10.1
Engineering & Tech
8.3
Education
7.7
Medical Science
3.8
Bars drawn to a common scale of 0–30 lakh. Source: AISHE 2023-24 Final Report, section 2.7.4 and Table 36 (based on actual response) [1].
By degree programme rather than discipline, the B.A. (including B.A. Hons) was awarded to 28.6 lakh students, 36.8% of all undergraduate out-turn. The B.Sc. went to 13.1 lakh and the B.Com. to 10.1 lakh. B.E. and B.Tech. together went to 8.2 lakh.
Finding 2 Data
General-stream graduate numbers fell in one year while Engineering grew
Comparing the two latest surveys, released together on 8 July 2026, graduate numbers fell in Arts, Science and Commerce. Engineering, Education and Medical Science rose. Total out-turn across all levels still edged up, from 1.09 crore to 1.10 crore.
−7.3%
fall in Commerce UG graduates, the largest drop; Engineering rose 6.4%
Undergraduate out-turn by discipline, two surveys compared (lakh)
AISHE 2022-23AISHE 2023-24
Arts
25.7
24.4
Science
11.8
11.4
Commerce
10.9
10.1
Engineering & Tech
7.8
8.3
Education
7.5
7.7
Medical Science
3.3
3.8
Common scale of 0–30 lakh. AISHE 2022-23 counts graduates of AY 2021-22; AISHE 2023-24 counts graduates of AY 2022-23. Sources: AISHE 2022-23 section 2.7.4 / Table 35 [2]; AISHE 2023-24 section 2.7.4 / Table 36 [1].
Discipline (UG)
2022-23
2023-24
Change
% change
Arts
25.7
24.4
−1.3
−5.1%
Science
11.8
11.4
−0.4
−3.4%
Commerce
10.9
10.1
−0.8
−7.3%
Engineering & Technology
7.8
8.3
+0.5
+6.4%
Education
7.5
7.7
+0.2
+2.7%
Medical Science
3.3
3.8
+0.5
+15.2%
Read these one-year changes with care. The set of institutions that respond differs slightly between surveys, so part of any change can come from who reported rather than from real shifts. Two data points show a direction, not yet a trend.
Finding 3 Data
The pipeline is tilting: Engineering has overtaken Commerce in enrolment
Out-turn shows who graduated. Enrolment shows who is still in the system. In AISHE 2022-23, Commerce held a larger share of undergraduate enrolment than Engineering. In AISHE 2023-24, the order reversed. Arts still enrols nearly a third of all undergraduates, but its share fell by about two percentage points in a year.
12.9% vs 12.0%
share of UG enrolment, Engineering vs Commerce, AISHE 2023-24
Share of undergraduate enrolment by discipline (%)
AISHE 2022-23AISHE 2023-24
Arts
34.0
32.1
Science
14.0
13.5
Commerce
12.7
12.0
Engineering & Tech
11.9
12.9
Common scale of 0–40%. Based on actual response. Sources: AISHE 2022-23 Key Results and section 2.2.6.1 [2]; AISHE 2023-24 Key Results and section 2.2.6.1 [1].
Within Engineering, computing dominates. Computer Engineering accounts for 18.4 lakh of the 46.3 lakh students enrolled in Engineering & Technology across all levels, about two in five (AISHE 2023-24, section 2.2.7.1 [1]).
Finding 4 Data
Women are the majority of graduates in every general stream
Women made up 52.1% of all pass-outs in AISHE 2023-24. They were 55.2% of Arts graduates, 53.9% of Science graduates and 51.5% of Commerce graduates. Engineering is the exception: women are 31.1% of undergraduate Engineering enrolment. AISHE does not publish the female share of Engineering out-turn in its report text.
Scale 0–100%; dashed line marks 50%. Engineering is not shown because AISHE does not publish the female share of Engineering out-turn in its report text; the 31.1% above is a share of enrolment, a different measure. Source: AISHE 2023-24 [1].
Where students and parents can start
These numbers describe supply: how many people hold each kind of degree. They do not say which degree leads to a job. Still, supply matters when choosing a stream.
A popular degree means more competition. A B.A. or B.Sc. graduate enters a pool of lakhs of people with the same qualification. Plan early for what will set you apart: a specialisation, a skill, internships or a second language. Communication skills guide
Look at the subject, not only the stream. "Arts" covers economics, psychology, languages and history. "Engineering" is now mostly computing. Ask what is studied inside the label. Stream Explorer
Check the trend before you commit. A stream that is growing today will produce more graduates four years from now, when you finish. Career Compass
Use official data. AISHE tables are free on aishe.gov.in, including state-wise figures for your own state. Parents: Guidance Hub
Methodology & sources
Method
This report uses only figures published by the Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education, Government of India, in the AISHE Final Reports for 2022-23 and 2023-24, released together on 8 July 2026. No figures were estimated or modelled. Where this report shows a derived number, it is simple arithmetic on published figures:
Undergraduate out-turn (≈78 lakh): 71.0% × 1.10 crore. The report states the share, not the exact count.
Ratio of 5.5: (24.4 + 11.4 + 10.1) ÷ 8.3 lakh, UG discipline-wise out-turn, 2023-24.
"Nearly three times": 24.4 ÷ 8.3 = 2.9.
Shares of 59% and 11%: discipline out-turn divided by the derived UG total.
Changes between surveys: differences between the two reports' discipline-wise figures.
Limitations
AISHE is voluntary and self-reported by institutions. In 2023-24, 59,553 of 64,756 registered institutions took part (about 92%).
Out-turn figures are "based on actual response" and are not adjusted for non-responding institutions. Enrolment totals are estimated by AISHE; discipline shares are not.
Each survey's out-turn refers to the previous academic year. AISHE 2023-24 counts students who graduated in AY 2022-23.
Discipline and programme differ. "Arts" (24.4 lakh) is a discipline group. The B.A. degree (28.6 lakh) is a programme and includes B.A. students counted under other disciplines. We use discipline figures for comparisons and programme figures only where labelled. The 2023-24 Key Results page gives 24.4 lakh for the B.A.; we follow the detailed section 2.7.3, which gives 28.6 lakh.
AISHE measures education, not employment. This report makes no claim about jobs or employability.
Ahamed, S. (2026). Who India Graduates: Undergraduate out-turn by discipline, AISHE 2022-23 and 2023-24. enaasan.online Research Report No. 1. https://enaasan.online/reports/who-india-graduates/
Corrections
None yet. If you spot an error, tell us and we will correct it here, publicly, with the date.
Summary in other languages
Summaries in Tamil, Telugu and Hindi are being prepared with our language reviewers and will be added here.
enaasan.online is a free career guidance platform for students and parents. Every figure in this report links to an official government source.