More than 1 million Chinese have studied abroad since the late 1970s, an official with the Ministry of Education (MOE) said in Beijing on Monday.

The number of students who have pursued overseas study since 2000 accounted for more than 70 percent of the total number of students who went to school abroad in the last two decades, Shao Wei, an MOE official told a press conference.

In 2005, 118,500 Chinese students studied abroad, 106,500 at their own expenses.

The Chinese government has also funded more people to study overseas.

More than 100,000 Chinese have studied abroad annually since 2002, according to the MOE.

(Xinhua News Agency February 27, 2007)