Results of a survey conducted by three local associations in Macao indicated that Taiwan has overtaken the Chinese mainland as the most popular non-local college education provider among Macao students, the Macao Post Daily reported on Wednesday.

Similar teaching methods and good study environments are the major reasons the interviewed students chose Taiwan as the place to further their education, the daily quoted the survey as saying.

The survey was jointly carried out by the Macao Youth Research Association (MYRA), Macao New Chinese Youth Association and Association of Chinese Students (Macao). The survey organizers received written survey response from 764 students between December 2009 and March 2010, on questions relating to education, financial and living conditions.

Last year, a total of 921 Macao students went to Taiwan for their college education, increasing from 775 in 2008, the daily said.

According to the survey, the most popular subjects that Macao students choose to study in Taiwan are humanities and business administration.

Some 60 percent of the interviewed students who were studying in Taiwan said they made the right choice, while only 4 percent of them regretted their decisions, the daily quoted Iao Tin, who heads the Association of Chinese Students (Macao), as saying.