BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- China had over 47.63 million students at higher-educational institutions of various types in 2023, an increase of 1.08 million over the previous year, or up 2.32 percent year on year, the Ministry of Education said on Friday.

Last year, over 10.42 million students were enrolled in universities, colleges and vocational schools nationwide, up 2.73 percent year on year, the ministry told a press conference. It noted about 1.3 million graduate students were enrolled across China in 2023, an increase of 4.76 percent over the previous year.

The country boasted 3,074 higher-educational institutions in 2023, 61 more than 2022, the ministry said, adding that there were 2.07 million full-time teachers in higher education, up 4.91 percent from the previous year.

The gross enrollment ratio in China's higher education reached 60.2 percent in 2023, up 0.6 percentage points from 2022, the ministry noted.