India has 53,636 colleges.
Here's the full picture.
Every college in the government's AISHE survey, aggregated: which states lead, who runs them, where they are, and the boom that built most of them after 2000.
53,636
Colleges
AISHE 'college' category
36
States & UTs
every one has colleges
766
Districts covered
60%
Rural
more rural than urban
The post-2000 college boom
Of the 47,138 colleges with a founding year on record, 35,407 — about 75% — were established after the year 2000. Most of India's higher-education capacity is younger than its students' parents.
Colleges established per decade. 6,498 colleges without a recorded year are excluded.
Mostly private, mostly rural
Two facts that surprise most people: 69% of Indian colleges are private un-aided (no government funding), and rural colleges outnumber urban ones.
Who runs India's colleges
Where they are
Uttar Pradesh leads by a distance
The top 10 states hold 78% of all colleges in the country.
Bengaluru Urban: India's college capital
One district — Bengaluru Urban — has more colleges than 22 entire states and union territories.
The biggest affiliating universities
Most Indian colleges are affiliated to a university that sets their syllabus and awards their degrees. These universities have the largest college networks:
| # | University | Affiliated colleges |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences, Bangalore | 1,363 |
| 2 | University of Mumbai | 902 |
| 3 | Savitribai Phule Pune University | 889 |
| 4 | Dr.A.P.J. ABDUL KALAM TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY ,LUCKNOW | 794 |
| 5 | Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia Awadh University, Faizabad | 771 |
| 6 | Osmania University, Hyderabad | 752 |
| 7 | Tamil Nadu Dr. M.G.R. Medical University , Chennai | 746 |
| 8 | Maharashtra University of Health Sciences, Nashik | 713 |
| 9 | Makhanlal Chaturvedi National University of Journalism and Communication, Bhopal | 683 |
| 10 | Professor Rajendra Singh (Rajju Bhaiya) University, Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh | 674 |
Every state and union territory
| State / UT | Colleges | Private un-aided | Government | Rural | Top district |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Uttar Pradesh | 9,258 | 83% | 5% | 78% | Prayagraj (473) |
| Maharashtra | 6,107 | 72% | 3% | 57% | Pune (734) |
| Karnataka | 5,064 | 74% | 12% | 30% | Bengaluru Urban (1,225) |
| Rajasthan | 4,697 | 70% | 19% | 54% | Jaipur (809) |
| Madhya Pradesh | 3,590 | 63% | 19% | 47% | Bhopal (426) |
| Gujarat | 3,252 | 63% | 8% | 57% | Ahmedabad (440) |
| Tamil Nadu | 3,153 | 76% | 10% | 78% | Coimbatore (315) |
| Andhra Pradesh | 2,787 | 82% | 10% | 62% | Guntur (286) |
| Telangana | 2,272 | 78% | 14% | 46% | Hyderabad (499) |
| Odisha | 1,732 | 49% | 18% | 62% | Khordha (306) |
| Kerala | 1,720 | 61% | 16% | 76% | Ernakulam (220) |
| West Bengal | 1,631 | 54% | 19% | 62% | Kolkata (186) |
| Bihar | 1,455 | 56% | 14% | 63% | Patna (250) |
| Haryana | 1,233 | 69% | 18% | 67% | Mahendragarh (106) |
| Punjab | 1,137 | 71% | 9% | 64% | Ludhiana (127) |
| Chhattisgarh | 1,105 | 45% | 39% | 61% | Raipur (166) |
| Assam | 692 | 24% | 58% | 61% | Kamrup Metro (103) |
| Uttarakhand | 580 | 53% | 26% | 65% | Dehradun (151) |
| Jharkhand | 478 | 50% | 23% | 69% | Ranchi (83) |
| Himachal Pradesh | 380 | 48% | 44% | 78% | Kangra (86) |
| Jammu and Kashmir | 359 | 38% | 49% | 68% | Jammu (73) |
| Delhi | 219 | 39% | 38% | 5% | West (39) |
| Manipur | 126 | 40% | 42% | 63% | Imphal West (41) |
| Meghalaya | 100 | 39% | 19% | 56% | East Khasi Hills (44) |
| Puducherry | 98 | 56% | 28% | 61% | Puducherry (80) |
| Goa | 81 | 21% | 28% | 56% | North Goa (45) |
| Nagaland | 78 | 32% | 29% | 38% | Dimapur (29) |
| Tripura | 64 | 19% | 70% | 63% | West Tripura (41) |
| Arunachal Pradesh | 47 | 38% | 53% | 57% | Papum Pare (14) |
| Mizoram | 39 | 18% | 77% | 36% | Aizawl (23) |
| Sikkim | 30 | 13% | 53% | 53% | Gangtok (18) |
| The Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu | 24 | 46% | 54% | 83% | Dadra and Nagar Haveli (11) |
| Chandigarh | 23 | 13% | 57% | 0% | Chandigarh (23) |
| Andaman and Nicobar Islands | 9 | 0% | 100% | 11% | South Andamans (6) |
| Lakshadweep | 8 | 0% | 75% | 88% | Lakshadweep District (8) |
| Ladakh | 8 | 0% | 88% | 63% | Leh Ladakh (4) |
Methodology & source
All figures are aggregated from the Government of India's AISHE (All India Survey on Higher Education) college directory, as on 16 July 2026. Counts cover the AISHE “college” category only — universities and standalone institutions are separate categories and not included. Establishment-decade figures cover the 47,138 colleges (88%) with a recorded founding year. Percentages are rounded. Feel free to cite these figures with a link to this page.
Choosing what to study is the harder question.
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