BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- More Chinese students returned from overseas after graduating in 2016, according to the Ministry of Education on Wednesday.

In 2016, 544,500 Chinese students studied overseas, 144,900 people more than 2012; while the number of returnees in 2016 was 432,500, up 159,600 than 2012, said Xu Tao, head of the international division of the ministry.

Nearly 80 percent of students overseas went to an English-speaking country in 2016. The United States, the United Kingdom and Australia were the preferred destinations, Xu said.

More than 90 percent of students studying abroad had no financial support to cover their tuition fees in 2016. The percentage has remained around 92 percent since 2012, he said.

Xu said that the number of foreign students studying in China continued to rise. More than 440,000 overseas students studied in China in 2016, up 35 percent than 2012.

About 50,000 foreign students from 183 countries received scholarships from the Chinese government last year, accounting for 11 percent of all foreign students in China, an increase of 70 percent over 2012, he added.