BEIJING — China's courier sector saw expansion in 2020, official data shows.

The China express delivery development index stood at 1,259.1 last year, up 26.1 percent year-on-year, the State Post Bureau said in a report released on May 8.

The sub-indices for development scale, development popularity, and development trend respectively rose 28.3 percent, 7.1 percent, and 21.2 percent from a year earlier, according to the bureau.

The courier sector handled approximately 83.36 billion parcels in 2020, up 31.2 percent from the figure in 2019, the bureau said.

The express delivery industry is expected to handle over 100 billion parcels in 2021, and its operating revenue will exceed 1 trillion yuan (about $154.6 billion), bureau data shows.

Compiled on the basis of data from major logistics firms' operating delivery services, the development index reflects the overall business activities and trends in the country's courier sector.