BEIJING, March 1 (Xinhua) -- The gross enrollment rate of China's higher education sector hit 54.4 percent in 2020, according to the Ministry of Education (MOE) on Monday.

Data released by the MOE revealed that a total of 41.83 million students are studying in the country's 2,738 higher education institutions nationwide, including universities, colleges, and higher vocational schools.

As of 2020, the country has 289 million students in its 537,100 schools at all levels, and there are nearly 18 million full-time teachers, said the MOE.