BEIJING — The rate of the urban population against the total population stood at 60.6 percent in China at the end of 2019, up 1.02 percentage points from the same period in the previous year, official data showed.

The number of urban residents stood at 848.43 million at the end of 2019, 17.06 million more from the previous year, while the number of rural residents stood at 551.62 million, a decrease of 12.39 million, said a statement on the website of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Jan 19.

The urbanization rate was faster in the central and western regions than in the eastern and northeastern areas, narrowing the gaps on urbanization between different regions, said Zhang Yi, an official on population and job statistics with the NBS.

China has been taking various measures to boost urbanization and ensure residents can enjoy improved basic public service and social security.