NEET UG 2026: 11.21 Lakh Qualified, 1.4 Lakh Seats

NEET UG 2026: 11.21 lakh qualified, 1.4 lakh seats

22.8 lakh registered for NEET UG 2026

The National Testing Agency counted 22,79,743 registrations, close to 22.8 lakh. Before the exam it called NEET UG 2026 one of the largest entrance examinations in the world.

About 20 lakh of them sat the paper

19,99,895 candidates appeared, close to 20 lakh, and 2,79,848 did not. The National Testing Agency published both of these figures alongside the result on 16 July 2026.

The paper was re-conducted on 21 June

A public notice of 15 May 2026 announced a re-examination, held on 21 June with no fresh fee. The number who stayed away rose from 66,751 in 2025 to 2,79,848.

11.21 lakh qualified, a third year down

Qualifying means your score cleared the cut off for your category, not that you have a seat. The count has fallen from 13.16 lakh in 2024 to 12.37 lakh and now 11.21 lakh.

India has about 1.4 lakh MBBS seats

The National Medical Commission counted 1,40,664 seats for 2026-27 on 18 September. Of those, 64,121 are in government colleges and 76,543 are private. AIIMS sits outside it.

Eight qualifiers for every MBBS seat

11.21 lakh qualified against 1.4 lakh seats is close to eight for each one, and seventeen for each government seat. From here counselling ranks decide, not the qualifying mark.

Want to know more about the seat maths

Our comparison of MBBS in India and abroad sets the qualified figure against the seats available, and explains what each route costs a family over six years.