China tops among world countries in the number of students studying abroad, CCTV has reported.

Annually more than 25,000 Chinese students leave the country to enter foreign schools. The total number of students has so far reached some 380,000.

Most of the students go for undergraduate and postgraduate course and study at their own expenses. Every year some 2,000 students go at state expenditure.

A fast domestic economic growth thus a better financial background of Chinese students, together with a still unsatisfying domestic high education have resulted in the continual increase of the students studying abroad, experts said.

Chinese students are received in some 103 countries and most densely populated in schools in the United States, Britain, Australia, Canada, German, France and Japan.

Chinese students have become the largest group of foreign students in the United States and Japan.

In Britain, the number of students increased by four times in the last three years.

(eastday.com February 5, 2002)