China now has the world's largest higher education system, the Ministry of Education said on Thursday.

By the end of 2016, China had 2,880 higher education institutes, 90 more than in 2012, the ministry announced at a conference to summarize the recent achievements in education.

According to the ministry, these institutions had almost 37 million students, an 11.2 percent increase from five years ago.

In the past five years, the country has also paid great attention to deepening international cooperation on education, the ministry said.

China has established ties with 188 countries and regions, and has signed agreements on mutual recognition of academic degrees with 47 countries and regions.

"With 545,000 students overseas last year, China has become the world's largest source of international students," said Li Hai, the ministry's deputy director of international cooperation and exchanges.

"In addition, there were 442,000 students from 205 countries and regions in China last year, making China the largest destination in Asia for overseas study."