The number of South Korean students studying in China has passed 60-thousand.

According to statistics from China’s education ministry, the number of Korean students in China at the end of 2011 totaled 62-thousand-400, accounting for the largest body of international students there at 21 percent.

U.S. students followed at 23-thousand, while Japanese students represented the third largest foreign student body at 18-thousand.

The number of international students supported by the Chinese government was 25-thousand-600 in 2011, up 15 percent year-on-year.

The Chinese government earlier said it aims to increase the number of international students in the nation to 500-thousand by 2020.