BEIJING, March 22 -- As of December 2023, China had over 1.09 billion internet users, statistics from a report by the China Internet Network Information Center (CNNIC) showed.

The number marked an increase of 24.8 million from December 2022, according to the 53rd Statistical Report on China's Internet Development released by the institution on Friday.

Approximately 77.5 percent of China's citizens are internet users, up by 1.9 percentage points year on year, the report said.

The universalization of informationized services accelerated last year, as the users of online car-hailing services and internet healthcare services had increased by 90.57 million and 51.39 million, or 20.7 percent and 14.2 percent, respectively, year on year.

More than 509 million citizens in China had used online booking for travels as of last December, up by 86.29 million, which is 20.4 percent, on a yearly basis, according to the report.

As for infrastructure, 3.38 million 5G base stations had been built, covering the urban areas of all prefecture-level cities and counties across the country, the report said.

The first edition of the report was issued by the CNNIC in 1997.