BEIJING - Over 20,000 candidates took the 2016 national exam for the People's Liberation Army (PLA) civilian personnel recruitment on Sunday, competing for some 2400 vacancies.

The competition for each position varies, with 234 applicants vying for one spot the most fierce competition.

According to the person in charge of the exam with the PLA General Political Department, this year has seen an improvement in the overall quality of applicants.

Official data shows 26 percent of the examinees have graduated from national key universities and colleges, 42 percent were with graduate diplomas or above and 29 percent had rich work experience.

Besides, 16 percent of all candidates have applied for the exam on more than one year.

The national exam was first set up in 2013, attracting 102,000 people to sign up for the test to compete for some 2,600 army civilian personnel spots.