OCI cards issued: what the official record says
The Government of India has published a country-by-country breakdown of OCI cards exactly once, in March 2020. This is that record in full, what has changed since, and what has never been published at all.
eOCI Vault is not affiliated with, authorised by, or endorsed by the Government of India or any government agency. This page compiles figures the Government has published. It is not a government publication and carries no official status.
Statistics verified 14 August 2026. Each figure below carries the date its own source was current, which is not the same date.
Cards issued, by nationality
One parliamentary answer is the whole of the public country-level record. It counts cards issued cumulatively since the scheme began, by the holder’s nationality — not people currently holding a valid card, and not where they live.
| # | Nationality | Cards issued to 12 March 2020 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States | 1,309,559 |
| 2 | United Kingdom | 788,411 |
| 3 | Australia | 403,746 |
| 4 | Canada | 317,375 |
| 5 | Portugal | 87,299 |
| 6 | New Zealand | 69,883 |
| 7 | France | 65,678 |
| 8 | Singapore | 63,290 |
| 9 | Malaysia | 61,703 |
| 10 | Italy | 53,008 |
| 11 | Germany | 49,936 |
| 12 | Kenya | 40,900 |
| 13 | Ireland | 26,001 |
| 14 | Sri Lanka | 23,831 |
| 15 | Netherlands | 21,825 |
| 16 | South Africa | 16,940 |
| 17 | Austria | 15,078 |
| 18 | Belgium | 12,364 |
| 19 | Tanzania | 11,722 |
| 20 | Spain | 11,572 |
The ten largest account for 3,219,952 cards, just over 89% of the total. Source: Ministry of Home Affairs, Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 3695, answered 17/03/2020, Annexure "Nationality Wise OCI Card issued".
What has been published since
There is no annual series. These are the cumulative figures the Government has actually stated.
- All PIO cardholders deemed OCI cardholders
- 9 January 2015A deeming provision merging the two schemes, not a bulk issuance.Ministry of Home Affairs gazette notification, 09/01/2015 · as at 9 January 2015
- Total OCI registration cards issued
- 4,068,000Stated as 40.68 lakh. Still the most recent precise cumulative figure published.Ministry of External Affairs, Overseas Citizenship of India Scheme page · as at 31 January 2022
- Cumulative cards issued
- More than 5 millionThe Government has not published a precise figure since 2022. Rounded statements only.Ministry of Home Affairs, 19/05/2025 · as at 19 May 2025
Household income, where it is measured
Each figure below is quoted from a named official source, with its basis stated. They are not comparable across countries, and in the United States the two figures come from different surveys: some measure country of birth, others ethnicity, and the reference populations differ.
| Country | Measure | Community | National |
|---|---|---|---|
| United States | Median household incomeIndian immigrant households · Community figure from the 2024 American Community Survey; national figure from CPS ASEC for the same year.Migration Policy Institute; US Census Bureau · as at 2024 | $176,200 | $83,730 |
| Australia | Median weekly household incomeIndia-born residents · Measured by country of birth, not ethnicity. The Census does not publish a directly comparable national median on the same basis.Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2021 Census QuickStats · as at 10 August 2021 | $2,461 | — |
| New Zealand | Median household incomeIndian households · Measured by ethnicity.Stats NZ, 2023 Census · as at 7 March 2023 | NZ$132,100 | NZ$97,000 |
| Singapore | Median monthly household work incomeIndian households · Up from S$6,000 in 2010. Measured by the ethnicity of the household reference person.Singapore Department of Statistics, Census of Population 2020 · as at 30 June 2020 | S$8,500 | — |
United Kingdom. Wealth is published as bands rather than a single median, so it sits outside the table. Median household wealth is £206,000, against £177,000 for White British households. Median household wealth. Indian households are the wealthiest ethnic group in the United Kingdom on this measure. Separately, 41% of Indian households have a weekly income of £1,000 or more.
Karagiannaki, CASE Report 165, London School of Economics; GOV.UK Ethnicity facts and figures · as at 2021/23
The wider diaspora
- Overseas Indians worldwide
- 37,280,845Across 207 countries. Counts non-resident Indians and persons of Indian origin — most non-resident Indians are Indian citizens and cannot hold an OCI card.Ministry of External Affairs, Population of Overseas Indians · as at January 2026
- Remittances received by India
- US$135.4 billionIndia is the largest recipient of remittances worldwide, on World Bank figures.Reserve Bank of India, balance of payments (amount); World Bank / KNOMAD (world ranking) · as at FY2024–25
- India-born residents of Australia
- 971,020Now the largest overseas-born group in Australia, ahead of England at 970,950 — a margin of 70 people that a routine annual release may reverse.Australian Bureau of Statistics, population by country of birth · as at 30 June 2025
What the official record does not contain
Figures circulate that look precise and are not. These are the gaps that produce them.
No country breakdown since 2020
The March 2020 annexure appears to be the only country-wise OCI table the Government of India has ever published. Any later per-country figure in circulation is an estimate, however precisely it is written.
No count of living cardholders
Published figures count cards issued cumulatively. They do not subtract deaths, renunciations or cancellations, and may count a re-issued card twice. A cumulative issuance total is therefore an upper bound on the number of people currently holding a card, not a measurement of it.
No annual issuance series
There is no published year-by-year series. A smooth growth curve through the few real data points is drawn, not measured, and smooth curves always read as measurement.
Nationality is not residence
The table counts the nationality of the cardholder, not where they live. Portugal ranking fifth is widely attributed to a Portuguese nationality route open to people with a connection to Goa, Daman and Diu before 1961 — but no published data measures how much of the Portuguese figure that accounts for, so the table cannot tell you how many OCI holders live in Portugal.
How this page is maintained
Fully re-verified every six months, and immediately if the Ministry of Home Affairs or the Ministry of External Affairs publishes a new country-wise table.
Every figure was checked against the document it comes from before publication. Where a number could not be traced to a primary source, it was left out rather than softened.
Unofficial companion. This page is compiled by eOCI Vault, an independent app. It is not a government publication and carries no official status. For anything you intend to act on, use the official OCI Services portal and your own documents.