Lok Sabha Question No. 2254 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-12-12
Subject: Employees in High Commission and Embassies
Ministry: EXTERNAL AFFAIRS
Asked by: Dr. Manna Lal Rawat

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO- 2254

## ANSWERED ON- 12/12/2025

## EMPLOYEES IN HIGH COMMISSION AND EMBASSIES

†2254. DR. MANNA LAL RAWAT

Will the Minister of EXTERNAL AFFAIRS be pleased to state :-

(a) the number of High Commissions and Embassies in India at present country-wise;

(b) the number of employees working with all these High Commissions and Embassies, along with the number of India and foreign nationals out of them;

(c) whether the Government has the right to reduce or limit the number of staff employed in any country's High Commission or Embassy, if so, the legal or diplomatic provisions in this regard and the time when such a provision has been made since independence; and

(d)   whether   the   number   of   staff   employed   in   the   Pakistan   High Commission was reduced in May 2025, if so, the details of the steps

taken in this regard, the number of employees reduced and the current status in this regard?

## ANSWER

## THE MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS (SHRI PABITRA MARGHERITA)

- (a)   May   kindly   refer   table   below   regarding   the   number   of   High Commissions and Embassies in India at present country-wise:
- (b) May kindly refer the table below regarding number of employees working with High Commissions and Embassies in India :
- (c)   Yes,   the   Government   may   reduce   or   limit   the   number   of   staff employed in any country's High Commission or Embassy.

| S No.   | Description                                         |   Total (in Nos.) | Remarks                                  |
|---------|-----------------------------------------------------|-------------------|------------------------------------------|
| 1       | Resident Missions of Foreign countries in India     |               163 | List of countries attached at ANNEXURE 1 |
| 2       | Non-Resident Missions of Foreign countries in India |                12 | List of countries attached at ANNEXURE 2 |
| Total   |                                                     |               175 |                                          |

|   Diplomats/Officials (Foreign Nationals) |   Locally Recruited Staff |
|-------------------------------------------|---------------------------|
|                                      2512 |                      2821 |

As per the Article 11 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations 1961;

'In the absence of specific agreement as to the size of the mission, the receiving State may require that the size of a mission be kept within limits considered by it to be reasonable and normal, having regard to circumstances and conditions in the receiving State and to the needs of the particular mission.

The receiving State may equally, within similar bounds and on a nondiscriminatory basis, refuse to accept officials of a particular category.'

(d) As per the decision of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) which met on 23 April 2025 in the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, the overall strength of the High Commissions of India and Pakistan was brought down to 30 from 55, w.e.f 1 May 2025. Subsequently, three diplomats and officials of the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi were declared persona non grata and expelled from India as their activities were not in consonance with their diplomatic/official status in India. The current strength of the Pakistan High Commission stands at 27.

## Annexure 1

## List of Resident Missions of Foreign countries in India

|   S.No. | Country                        |
|---------|--------------------------------|
|       1 | Afghanistan                    |
|       2 | Algeria                        |
|       3 | Angola                         |
|       4 | Argentina                      |
|       5 | Armenia                        |
|       6 | Australia                      |
|       7 | Austria                        |
|       8 | Azerbaijan                     |
|       9 | Bahrain                        |
|      10 | Bangladesh                     |
|      11 | Belarus                        |
|      12 | Belgium                        |
|      13 | Benin                          |
|      14 | Bhutan                         |
|      15 | Bolivia                        |
|      16 | Bosnia & Herzegovina           |
|      17 | Botswana                       |
|      18 | Brazil                         |
|      19 | Brunei Darussalam              |
|      20 | Bulgaria                       |
|      21 | Burkina Faso                   |
|      22 | Burundi                        |
|      23 | Cambodia                       |
|      24 | Cameroon                       |
|      25 | Canada                         |
|      26 | Chile                          |
|      27 | China                          |
|      28 | Chad                           |
|      29 | Colombia                       |
|      30 | Congo - Democratic Republic of |
|      31 | Congo - Republic of            |
|      32 | Costa Rica                     |

|   33. | Cote d'Ivoire      |
|-------|--------------------|
|    34 | Croatia            |
|    35 | Cuba               |
|    36 | Cyprus             |
|    37 | Czech Republic     |
|    38 | Denmark            |
|    39 | Djibouti           |
|    40 | Dominican Republic |
|    41 | Ecuador            |
|    42 | Egypt              |
|    43 | El Salvador        |
|    44 | Equatorial Guinea  |
|    45 | Eritrea            |
|    46 | Estonia            |
|    47 | Ethiopia           |
|    48 | Fiji               |
|    49 | Finland            |
|    50 | France             |
|    51 | Gabon              |
|    52 | Gambia             |
|    53 | Georgia            |
|    54 | Germany            |
|    55 | Ghana              |
|    56 | Greece             |
|    57 | Guatemala          |
|    58 | Guinea             |
|    59 | Guyana             |
|    60 | Holy See           |
|    61 | Honduras           |
|    62 | Hungary            |
|    63 | Iceland            |
|    64 | Indonesia          |
|    65 | Iran               |
|    66 | Iraq               |
|    67 | Ireland            |
|    68 | Israel             |
|    69 | Italy              |

|   70. | Jamaica           |
|-------|-------------------|
|    71 | Japan             |
|    72 | Jordan            |
|    73 | Kazakhstan        |
|    74 | Kenya             |
|    75 | Korea - DPR       |
|    76 | Korea - RO        |
|    77 | Kuwait            |
|    78 | Kyrgyzstan        |
|    79 | Lao-PDR           |
|    80 | Latvia            |
|    81 | Lebanon           |
|    82 | Lesotho           |
|    83 | Libya             |
|    84 | Lithuania         |
|    85 | Luxembourg        |
|    86 | Madagascar        |
|    87 | Malawi            |
|    88 | Malaysia          |
|    89 | Maldives          |
|    90 | Mali              |
|    91 | Malta             |
|    92 | Mauritania        |
|    93 | Mauritius         |
|    94 | Mexico            |
|    95 | Moldova           |
|    96 | Mongolia          |
|    97 | Morocco           |
|    98 | Mozambique        |
|    99 | Myanmar           |
|   100 | Namibia           |
|   101 | Nauru Republic of |
|   102 | Nepal             |
|   103 | Netherlands       |
|   104 | New Zealand       |
|   105 | Niger             |
|   106 | Nigeria           |

6

|   107. | North Macedonia       |
|--------|-----------------------|
|    108 | Norway                |
|    109 | Oman                  |
|    110 | Pakistan              |
|    111 | Palestine             |
|    112 | Panama                |
|    113 | Papua New Guinea      |
|    114 | Paraguay              |
|    115 | Peru                  |
|    116 | Philippines           |
|    117 | Poland                |
|    118 | Portugal              |
|    119 | Qatar                 |
|    120 | Romania               |
|    121 | Russian Federation    |
|    122 | Rwanda                |
|    123 | Saint Kitts and Nevis |
|    124 | Saudi Arabia          |
|    125 | Senegal               |
|    126 | Serbia                |
|    127 | Seychelles            |
|    128 | Singapore             |
|    129 | Slovak Republic       |
|    130 | Slovenia              |
|    131 | Solomon Islands       |
|    132 | Somalia               |
|    133 | South Africa          |
|    134 | South Sudan           |
|    135 | Spain                 |
|    136 | Sri Lanka             |
|    137 | Sudan                 |
|    138 | Suriname              |
|    139 | Sweden                |
|    140 | Switzerland           |
|    141 | Syria                 |
|    142 | Tajikistan            |
|    143 | Tanzania              |

|   144. | Thailand                         |
|--------|----------------------------------|
|    145 | Timor Leste                      |
|    146 | Togo                             |
|    147 | Trinidad & Tobago                |
|    148 | Tunisia                          |
|    149 | Turkiye                          |
|    150 | Turkmenistan                     |
|    151 | Uganda                           |
|    152 | Ukraine                          |
|    153 | United Arab Emirates             |
|    154 | United Kingdom                   |
|    155 | United States of America         |
|    156 | Uruguay                          |
|    157 | Uzbekistan                       |
|    158 | Venezuela                        |
|    159 | Vietnam                          |
|    160 | Yemen                            |
|    161 | Zambia                           |
|    162 | Zimbabwe                         |
|    163 | Delegation of the European Union |

## Annexure 2

## List of Non-Resident Missions of Foreign countries in India

|   S.No. | Name                                  |
|---------|---------------------------------------|
|       1 | Bahamas                               |
|       2 | Federated States of Micronesia        |
|       3 | Guinea Bissau (At Beijing)            |
|       4 | San Marino (At Rome)                  |
|       5 | Grenada (At Grenada)                  |
|       6 | Marshall Islands (At Tokyo)           |
|       7 | Monaco (At Paris)                     |
|       8 | Kingdom of Eswatini (At Kuala Lumpur) |
|       9 | Sierra Leone (Abu Dhabi)              |
|      10 | Nicaragua                             |
|      11 | Montenegro                            |
|      12 | Samoa                                 |

*****