Statsguru: 160,000 Indians gave up citizenship in 2021 for greener pastures

A recent reply in the Lok Sabha noted that over 160,000 Indians had given up their citizenship in 2021 alone. The number surges to nearly 400,000 if one includes the previous two years. The total number of foreigners taking Indian citizenship numbered fewer than 4,000 in the same period (see chart 1).

The top countries for which Indian citizenships were relinquished include the US, Australia, Canada, the UK, and Italy (see chart 2).

International agencies provide information on migration across countries. Net migration, or the number of people leaving adjusted for the number of people coming in, has generally been