More than 77 per cent of students who appeared for the Class X examinations of the Central Board of Secondary Education have passed, the board said on Saturday.

CBSE officials said the pass percentage was 77.16 per cent -- an increase of 2.56 per cent compared to last year -- and Chennai topped all zones.

Ajmer and Chandigarh were second and third while Delhi was fifth.

Around 647,992 candidates, including 268,939 girls, appeared for the examination in March.

CBSE officials also said that 77.7 per cent girls passed the exam while for boys the figure was 76.77 per cent.

The pass percentage for regular students was 79.56 per cent and for private candidates, who do not attend school but take the exam, 28.81 per cent.