Indian citizens are dying abroad in high numbers, and Australia is now part of that conversation too

For many Indian families, Australia stands for safety, long-term settlement and a fairer future. That is exactly why the latest Rajya Sabha reply from India’s Ministry of External Affairs, deserves close attention in Australia. It shows that while the heaviest death toll still sits in the Gulf, Australia has also been identified by the Indian government as one of the countries where high fatalities of Indian citizens have been observed over the last five years.

The official MEA parliamentary annexure shows that the UAE recorded 2,714 deaths in 2021, 2,208 in 2022, 2,133 in 2023, 2,571 in 2024 and 2,754 in 2025, while Saudi Arabia recorded 2,329, 2,149, 2,693, 2,629 and 2,659 across the same years. Other Gulf countries remained high as well, including Kuwait with 1,201, 731, 708, 733 and 750, Oman with 913, 452, 503, 474 and 521, and Qatar with 420, 366, 352, 307 and 315. These are the biggest totals in the table, and they confirm that the Gulf remains the most dangerous overseas corridor for Indians by sheer volume.

But the same annexure table also shows that Australia recorded 78 deaths in 2021, 171 in 2022, 199 in 2023, 200 in 2024 and 215 in 2025, which adds up to 863 Indian citizens over five years. Australia is nowhere near Gulf levels, but the upward movement is still notable. For a country widely seen as a premium destination for Indian migrants, students and skilled workers, those numbers should not be brushed aside.

This matters directly to Made in India Magazine readers because Australia’s Indian communities are large, fast-growing and deeply connected to families across multiple migration routes. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s statistical snapshot says Australia’s Indian communities have grown in both size and complexity over the past two decades, are among the country’s most vibrant and dynamic communities, and are characterised by young, highly educated and civically engaged people whose people-to-people links underpin bilateral relations with India.

That is why this is not just a Gulf labour story. In many Indian families, one relative may be in Melbourne on a skilled visa, another in Sydney as a student, and another in Dubai, Muscat or Riyadh on a work contract. Migration decisions are often made as a family strategy. When something goes wrong in one country, the emotional and financial effects spread across the whole family network.

There is also an important caution here. The MEA reply asked about deaths of Indian citizens abroad and whether countries with persistently high fatalities had been identified. The ministry replied that the available information is placed in the annexure and specifically stated that countries such as Australia, Bahrain, Canada, Italy, Kuwait, Malaysia, Nepal, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, UAE, UK and USA are among those where high fatalities have been observed during the last five years. What the annexure does not provide is a cause-wise breakdown by country. So while the trend is serious, it does not tell us how many deaths were linked to illness, ageing, accidents, workplace conditions, mental health crises or other causes.

That missing detail is especially important in Australia. It means serious reporting should avoid jumping to conclusions. But it also means the figures deserve more attention from community organisations, Indian missions, diaspora welfare networks and media platforms serving Indian Australians. Rising numbers without deeper public explanation should lead to more scrutiny, not less.

A mature diaspora conversation has to hold two truths together. One is progress. Indian Australians are contributing strongly across business, medicine, education, technology and public life. The other is exposure. The same Indian parliamentary data shows that Indians are dying abroad in countries associated with hardship and in countries associated with opportunity. The scale is vastly different, but the message is similar. Migration can improve life, but it does not remove risk.