'The best engineers in the world are Chinese': Where do Indians stand? A VC explains

Engineering might be the world’s most globalized talent race — and the numbers show China is pulling far ahead. A viral post by Menlo Ventures VC Deedy Das has reignited debate on where the world’s “best” engineers come from, comparing annual graduate output in China, India, and the U.S.

According to Das, China produces an eye-watering 1.5 million engineering bachelor’s graduates, 400,000 master’s, and 60,000 PhDs each year. India, in comparison, churns out 850,000 engineering undergrads, 60,000 master’s, and around 6,000 PhDs. The U.S. is far smaller — roughly 140,000 engineering bachelor’s, 50,000 master’s, and 12,000–15,000 PhDs annually.

Critically, Das notes, over half of U.S. engineering master’s and PhD students are foreign-born, predominantly Indian or Chinese. In fact, Indians have recently overtaken Chinese as the largest group of international graduate students in U.S. computer science and engineering programs.

“Even if you assume the U.S. ones are better,” Das wrote, “at +3SD, the best engineers in the world are overwhelmingly Chinese.” His reference to “+3SD” — three standard deviations above the mean — reflects the statistical argument that China’s massive population and graduate pipeline naturally yield more outliers at the very top end of the talent curve.

China’s engineering output dwarfs every other nation. UNESCO data shows China alone graduates more engineers annually than the U.S., India, Japan, South Korea, and Europe combined. But quality remains uneven. Elite global rankings still consistently place U.S. universities at the top of engineering education, suggesting that while China produces the most, the U.S. and Europe still concentrate more high-quality programs.

India, with nearly 1 million engineering graduates annually, struggles with employability. Studies suggest up to 80% of Indian graduates may lack industry-ready skills, highlighting the gap between quantity and usable workforce quality.

Other countries also contribute significantly: Russia graduates up to 450,000 engineers annually, Iran about 230,000, Brazil 200,000, and Japan and South Korea each 50,000–100,000. But none rival China’s sheer scale.

The bigger picture? America’s reliance on foreign-born talent is stark. Without Indian and Chinese students, its graduate engineering ecosystem would collapse. Meanwhile, Beijing and New Delhi are building vast talent pools that could define the global innovation map for decades.