New Delhi: Last year, 24,06,079 candidates registered for the NEET UG exam. Experts expected NEET 2025 registrations to exceed 24 lakh, but recent media reports indicate a drop of over 1 lakh compared to last year. As of March 5, 2025, more than 20 lakh candidates have registered, with the total NEET 2025 registrations reaching around 23 lakh so far.
The NEET 2025 exam will take place on May 4, 2025, and the registration window will close on March 7, 2025. NEET 2025 will grant admission to MBBS, BDS, and AYUSH courses. Experts speculated that around 26 lakh students would register for NEET 2025. However, recent reports show a slight drop in NEET UG 2025 registrations compared to previous years. Read the full article to understand the potential reasons and impact of this decline in NEET 2025 registrations.
How Many Students Registered for NEET 2025?
According to the latest data, around 23 lakh candidates have registered for NEET 2025. NTA will soon publish the complete NEET 2025 registration statistics on its official website, neet.nta.nic.in.
Read Also: How Many Students Registered for NEET 2025?
NEET 2025 Registration Statistics Last 5 Years
Although NEET-UG 2025 registrations have dropped by one lakh compared to last year, the number of registrations for NEET UG has consistently increased over the past five years.
Year | Total Registered Students (in Lakh) |
2025 | 23 Lakh (Expected) |
2024 | 24,06,079 |
2023 | 20,87,462 |
2022 | 18,72,343 |
2021 | 16,14,777 |
2020 | 15,97,435 |

NEET UG 2025 Registrations Drop – Possible Reasons
Despite 24 lakh registrations in NEET 2024, the NEET 2025 registrations have dropped by 1 lakh. Possible reasons include:
- Impact of NEET 2024 Results
- NEET 2024 faced paper leaks, cheating, and result revisions.
- Higher cutoffs may have discouraged students from reappearing.
- Technical Issues in Registration
- Website glitches and payment failures caused difficulties.
- Many students couldn’t complete their registration.
- No Extension of Registration Deadline
- NTA extended registration in past years but not in NEET 2025.
- Students facing issues couldn’t register, lowering total registrations.
Other Potential Factors for NEET 2025 Registration Drop
- Increased Interest in Alternative Careers
- More students are exploring non-medical or other healthcare fields.
- Awareness of diverse career options may have led to fewer NEET applications.
- Financial Constraints
- High medical education costs may have discouraged students.
- Some aspirants might have opted out due to financial limitations.
Read Also: NEET UG 2025 Registrations Drop Compared to Last Year