BEIJING — China’s per capita consumer spending increased by 6.2 percent year-on-year in real terms to reach 19,853 yuan ($2,877) in 2018, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Jan 21.

The growth rate was 0.8 percentage point higher than that recorded in the previous year.

In breakdown, consumer spending in urban areas rose 6.8 percent year-on-year to 26,112 yuan, 0.9 percentage point higher than that recorded in the previous year.

Rural consumer spending stood at 12,124 yuan, up 10.7 percent from the previous year, 2.6 percentage points higher than that of 2017. The breakdown figures were calculated in nominal terms.

In 2018, retail sales rose 6.9 percent year-on-year, in real terms, to 38.1 trillion yuan.

The growth rate of retail sales grew faster, by 10.1 percent, in rural areas than the 8.8 percent growth in urban regions.

In December, retail sales grew 8.2 percent year-on-year, in nominal terms, to reach 3.59 trillion yuan, 0.1 percentage point higher than that recorded in November.

In 2018, online retail sales rose 24 percent to 9 trillion yuan.

Consumption remained the major growth driver, contributing 76.2 percent to GDP growth last year. Retail sales, a main gauge of consumption, rose 9 percent from one year earlier.

China’s economy grew 6.6 percent year-on-year in 2018, above the official target of around 6.5 percent. China’s economy performed within a reasonable range in 2018, with economic growth being generally stable and improvement achieved in performance, Ning Jizhe, head of the NBS, said at a press conference.