BEIJING, March 18 -- A total of 377,054 foreign students from 203 countries and regions studied in China in 2014, up 5.77 percent year on year, China's Ministry of Education (MOE) said Wednesday.

International students studied in 775 colleges, research institutes and other institutions across 31 provincial regions, the MOE said, adding that 9.8 percent of them are sponsored by Chinese government scholarships.

A total of 164,394 international students are earning degrees, including 47,990 graduate and doctorate students, the MOE said.

The Republic of Korea, the United States and Thailand are the three major source countries for international students in China, the ministry said.