Annual IIT JEE Exam: Number of Candidates Each Year

Oct, 24 2025

Ever wondered just how many hopeful engineers line up for the IIT JEE every year? The answer isn’t a static figure - it swells, drops, and shifts with policy changes, coaching trends, and the sheer size of India’s Class 12 cohort. Below you’ll find a clear, data‑driven picture of the exam’s participation numbers, plus the context you need to make sense of the trends.

What is IIT JEE?

IIT JEE is the national engineering entrance examination that determines admission to the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). It is split into two stages: Joint Entrance Examination (JEE) Main and JEE Advanced. The first stage screens millions of aspirants, while the second stage selects the top few hundred for the IITs.

How the exam is structured

The JEE Main is conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA). It is offered four times a year (January, April, July, and October) in both paper‑based and online modes. Candidates who score above the set cutoff are eligible to appear for JEE Advanced, which is organized by one of the IITs on a rotating basis.

Historical enrollment trends

Since the exam’s split in 2013, participation has risen dramatically. In 2013, about 2.2 million students appeared for JEE Main. By 2020, that number crossed 10 million, driven by the expansion of test centres and the inclusion of foreign nationals.

Below is a quick snapshot of total JEE Main candidates over the past decade:

• 2013: 2.2 million
• 2015: 6.0 million
• 2017: 8.8 million
• 2019: 9.2 million
• 2021: 10.5 million
• 2023: 10.8 million
• 2024: 11.1 million (preliminary figures)

While JEE Main numbers have hovered around the 10‑12 million mark, JEE Advanced participants have stayed relatively stable, ranging between 150 000 and 200 000 candidates each year.

Recent year data (2022‑2024)

Official NTA releases for the last three cycles give the following counts:

1. 2022: 10.79 million JEE Main registrations; 155 000 eligible for JEE Advanced.
2. 2023: 10.91 million JEE Main registrations; 158 000 eligible for JEE Advanced.
3. 2024 (pre‑final): 11.03 million JEE Main registrations; 162 000 eligible for JEE Advanced.

These figures include both Indian nationals and overseas candidates who apply through the NTA’s online portal.

Factors influencing the numbers

Several forces push these numbers up or down:

• Population growth: India produces roughly 1.5 million Class 12 graduates each year, a large share of whom view IIT JEE as the most prestigious engineering gateway.
• Coaching Institutes: The rise of chain‑style coaching centres (e.g., Coaching Institutes) has made intensive preparation more accessible, encouraging more students to attempt the exam.
• Online Prep Platforms: Platforms like Online Prep Platforms provide affordable mock tests, boosting confidence and participation, especially in rural areas.
• Policy changes: The NTA’s decision to increase the number of test centres from 1500 in 2018 to over 2300 in 2024 directly lowered geographic barriers.
• Reservation Categories: Seats are allocated for SC, ST, OBC, and PwD groups, and the cut‑off trends for these categories affect how many register each year.

Comparison of JEE Main vs. JEE Advanced candidate counts (2022‑2024)

Even though the raw numbers look massive, only about 1½ % of JEE Main takers qualify for the second stage. This bottleneck explains why many students opt for intensive crash courses after the first exam.

State‑wise and gender breakdown (2023 snapshot)

Understanding where candidates come from helps coaches tailor their outreach:

• Uttar Pradesh: 1.9 million (≈17 % of total)
• Maharashtra: 1.4 million
• Delhi/NCR: 1.2 million
• Kerala: 0.8 million

Gender-wise, female participation has climbed steadily - from 15 % in 2015 to 22 % in 2023 - thanks to increased awareness and scholarships for women in STEM.

What the numbers mean for your preparation strategy

If you’re among the IIT JEE candidates aiming for a seat, the data suggests a few practical moves:

1. Start early: With ~10 million people taking JEE Main, early concept mastery narrows the competition.
2. Leverage online resources: Free mock tests on reputable Online Prep Platforms can simulate the real exam environment without the travel cost of physical centres.
3. Target the cut‑off trends: Review last year’s cut‑off scores for your reservation category and gender - they give a realistic target for your practice scores.
4. Plan for the second stage: If you clear the JEE Main threshold, allocate a dedicated 2‑month intensive batch for JEE Advanced topics such as higher‑order mathematics and advanced physics.
5. Mind the state‑specific nuances: Some states, like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, have additional state‑level screening exams; factor those into your timetable.

By aligning your study plan with the actual scale of the exam, you avoid the common pitfall of “studying for an exam that feels too big to crack.” Instead, you focus on the 1‑2 % slice that truly matters.

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