The number of Chinese immigrants in Africa has risen sevenfold over less than two decades, although most still plan to return home for retirement, according to a recent survey.

The Annual Report on Overseas Chinese Study said the African continent was home to more than 1.1 million Chinese immigrants in 2012, compared with less than 160,000 in 1996, adding that 90 percent of the current total arrived after 1970.

The study was conducted by researchers at Huaqiao, Peking and Xiamen universities, and released by the Social Sciences Academic Press, a publisher affiliated with the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.