Indian officials say the number of Tibetans living in India fell to about 70,000 in 2026, a sharp drop from roughly 110,000 in 2010—an unprecedented contraction in a community that once thrived on yearly influxes.
The decline follows a steep fall in annual arrivals, from roughly 3,000 in 2008 to only six in 2023, a collapse attributed to tightening Chinese border controls after the 2008 unrest. Kunchok Migmar, the Tibetan Settlement Officer for Dharamshala district, said the journey to India has become a bureaucratic minefield.
Birth rates among Tibetans in India have slipped, and many young people are leaving for study and work abroad, where tens of thousands already reside in Europe, North America and Australia. This exodus is squeezing the community’s core.
The Dalai Lama‑founded Tibetan Children’s Villages network now enrolls only about 5,000 students—down from 17,000 pre‑2008—while senior classes hold just 500. Residential homes that once held up to 100 children now accommodate 20‑30.
TIPA, which once drew 200 students to its seven‑year program, now admits roughly 35, and is recruiting in Ladakh and Tawang to sustain its tradition. Director Dhondup Tsering said the institute is turning to local Himalayan communities to keep its arts alive.
A 19‑year‑old student, Tsering, who grew up in Dharamshala’s Lower Dharamshala branch, says, “We’re running out of classmates; the school feels empty, and I worry about preserving our language.”
The Central Tibetan Administration has begun enrolling children from neighboring Himalayan communities and courting Tibetan families abroad, but the long‑term sustainability of its institutions remains uncertain, with several schools projected to close by 2030. The CTA is lobbying the Indian Ministry of External Affairs for renewed grant support.