Students prepare for their last 100 days before college entrance exam at a school in Yichang, central China’s Hubei province, on February 29, 2016. [Photo: Chinanews.com]

The number of Chinese candidates sitting this year's college entrance exam or Gaokao has sharply declined in thirteen provinces and municipalities including Beijing, Zhejiang and Jiangsu, according to a report on Wednesday.

The report released by education information portal Eol.cn said the number of Chinese Gaokao candidates suddenly dipped after a peak in 2008. But in 2015, the number of Chinese Gaokao candidates increased by 30,000 compared with 2014. The report predicted that China's total number of Gaokao candidates will stay low in the near future.

Based on the report, statistics indicate the main reason for the decline in Gaokao candidates is a decrease in school students. China's birth rate has been in decline since the 1980s, and with the rate only stabilizing 16 years ago, the number of students has correspondingly decreased.

The report also said that school students studying abroad is another reason for the decline in Gaokao candidates. Latest statistics from the Ministry of Education show over 520,000 Chinese students studied abroad in 2015, an increase of 63,000 compared with the previous year. The chief editor of Eol.cn Chen Zhiwen said domestic colleges need to improve the quality of their education to compete with competition from foreign colleges.