TAIPEI, March 5 -- The number of students from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) attending Taiwan colleges has increased threefold in eight years, Taiwan's educational authority said Wednesday.

In 2013, the island's colleges and universities recruited over 4,100 students from Hong Kong and 4,400 from the Macao SAR, whose number has also doubled from the 2005 figure.

Many Hong Kong high school graduates have opted for Taiwan colleges due to a lack of universities back in Hong Kong, and they are also attracted by the low tuition fees and living costs in Taiwan, according to Taiwan's educational authority.

The trend has also been made possible by an eased policy in Taiwan to woo non-local students amid a shrinking pool of local students. Last year, the island began to allow its universities and two-year technical institutes to independently recruit students from Hong Kong and Macao.