BEIJING - A total of more than 3.65 million Chinese returned to China to pursue their careers after finishing their studies overseas from the beginning of China's reform and opening up in 1978 to the end of 2018, data showed.

The number of Chinese who returned in 2018 on completion of their overseas studies totaled 519,400, according to a statistical report on China's human resources and social security in 2018 issued by the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security.

The data did not cover the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, or Taiwan province, the report noted.