BEIJING - About 354,000 Chinese overseas students returned to China after graduation in 2013, up 29.5 percent year on year, according to statistics released on Wednesday.

The total number of Chinese overseas students reached 1.44 million by the end of 2013, said the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (MHRSS) in a report.

About 167,000 experts had been granted special government allowances from the State Council by the end of 2013, according to the report.

The MHRSS also noted in the report that 204,000 civil servants were recruited across the country in 2013.