BEIJING — As access to the internet continues to grow across China, an increasing number of older adults are now online, according to a recent report on China's internet development.

The report, released by the China Internet Network Information Center, found that by December last year, about 26.3 percent of the total online population in China were aged 50 or above, while the figure in March was about 16.9 percent.

According to the report, people in their 30s accounted for about 20.5 percent of Chinese netizens and those in their 20s and 40s made up 17.8 percent and 18.8 percent of the total, respectively.

The number of Chinese internet users hit 989 million by the end of last year, an increase of 85.4 million from March 2020, according to the report.