Divya Delhi : With approximately 23 lakh NEET-UG hopefuls in 2025 and only 1.1 lakh MBBS places nationwide, more Indian students are studying abroad. The strong demand-supply imbalance in India's medical education system is driving many to Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and the Caribbean.About 55,000 slots are in government medical institutes with subsidised tuition. Due to severe competition for these few slots, many high-scoring candidates choose expensive private universities or study abroad.Experts say necessity, not choice, drives this trend.A medical education counselor noted, "Studying abroad can ease the academic pressure typical of the Indian medical entrance system." "International programmes often offer multiple intakes and more flexible admission criteria, considering a student's overall academic profile, language skills, extracurricular achievements, and interview performance," Country Head for India & South East Asia, Manipal's AUA College of Medicine, Arunesh Kumar.Modern facilities, integrated curricula, and early clinical exposure lure Indian students to global medical institutes beyond accessibility. Many Caribbean medical schools mix island-based instruction with US hospital training. Such programs give students a global perspective needed for today's healthcare systems by exposing them to other ethnicities.