LHASA, Oct. 26 -- The gross domestic product (GDP) of southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region expanded 9.8 percent year on year in the first nine months of 2023, the regional government announced at a press conference on Thursday.

Its regional GDP stood at nearly 162.86 billion yuan (about 22.7 billion U.S. dollars) from January to September.

During this period, the per capita disposable incomes of urban and rural residents in Tibet increased by 5.8 percent and 8.7 percent, respectively. The value-added output of major industrial enterprises in the region increased 14.7 percent year on year.

From January to September, Tibet received 49.67 million tourists, a year-on-year increase of 67.4 percent, and achieved a total tourism income of 59.4 billion yuan, up 46.2 percent year on year.

The regional statistics bureau said Tibet's GDP growth rate in the first three quarters ranked first in China and was 4.6 percentage points higher than the national level, demonstrating an obvious economic recovery trend in the region.