BEIJING -- Preschool education has expanded rapidly in China, Minister of Education Chen Baosheng said on Thursday.

With 267,000 kindergartens nationwide, China had about 46.56 million preschoolers and 4.53 million preschool teachers by the end of 2018, up 77.3 percent, 56.4 percent and 145 percent, respectively, from those in 2010, said Chen while giving a report on preschool education at a bi-monthly legislative session of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

The increasing supply of preschool education has effectively eased the pressure on enrollment in kindergartens.

Some 73.1 percent of preschoolers in China were receiving education at affordable kindergartens in 2018, including public and private ones, Chen said.