17pc rise in number of Pakistani students studying in China: report

Karachi

Nearly 400,000 international students studied in China last year, a 5.5 percent increase from 2014, the Ministry of Education announced.

The students represented 202 countries and regions around the world, reported China Daily on Saturday.

Nearly half of the students came for an academic degree, and over 10 percent received Chinese government scholarships, the ministry said on its website.

By region students from Asia were most common, followed by Europe, Africa, the Americas and Oceania. The ministry announced that the number of students from countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, including India, Pakistan and Kazakhstan, had climbed significantly.

Pakistan rose from the eighth to sixth with a 17 percent increase.

India with 16,694 students studying in China last year rose from seventh to the fourth as the most common country of origin among the international students, while South Korea, the United States and Thailand were again in the top three countries of origin for international students in China. Beijing and Shanghai were the first and second most favourite cities for the international students.