Amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, the number of foreigners staying in the country has fallen below two million.

According to data from the Ministry of Justice on Wednesday, there were one-point-96 million foreign residents in the country as of the end of 2021, down three-point-nine percent from a year earlier.

The latest tally is 23 percent lower than the peak of two-point-52 million people recorded just before the pandemic's outbreak in late 2019.

Out of total foreign residents, one-point-57 million were long-term, while 386-thousand were staying for less than three months. Foreigners visiting on the B2 tourist visa dropped 16 percent on-year to 43-thousand.

There were 840-thousand Chinese nationals, followed by 208-thousand Vietnamese citizens, 171-thousand Thais and 140-thousand Americans.