470,395 students to take SPM 2013 beginning November 6

• Beginning November 6 to December 5, a total of 470,395 students will be taking this year's Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) examination at 3,616 centres nationwide.

Roughly 88 per cent (415,509) of the total candidates belong to government schools, government-aided schools and public religious schools.

Nearly 2 per cent (8,054) of the candidates come from government agencies such as Mara Junior Science College (MRSM), 1,389  from people's religious schools, 8,325 from state religious schools, 11,261 (2.4%) from private schools and 22,857 (4.8%) private candidates.

Here's a brief comparison with last year's numbers: