Over 70-thousand took the Test of Proficiency in Korean, or TOPIK, across the world over the weekend, marking a new high.

The South Korean Education Ministry and the National Institute for International Education(NIIED) said on Monday that 72-thousand-295 people took the 46th TOPIK on Saturday and Sunday at 164 test centers in 45 countries.

Since the inaugural test in 1997 when two-thousand-692 took the test, the number of people taking TOPIK has gradually risen. After reaching 82-thousand-881 in 2007, the number rose to 206-thousand-768 in 2015 to mark more than a 70-fold rise of test takers in less than two decades.

The proficiency test for non-native Koreans was administered once a year until 2006, when the exam started to be offered six times per year. The number of countries offering the test has also increased from four–South Korea, Japan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan–to 71 currently. 

In 2014, the TOPIK was offered in Cuba, a country that does not have diplomatic relations with South Korea. The most recent test was also offered for the first time in Morocco. In the second half of this year, the test will be available for the first time in Bulgaria, Jamaica and Poland.