FACTBOX: Key figures and facts about Tibet's development

BEIJING, March 7 (Xinhua) -- The Tibet Autonomous Region, covering one-eighth of China's territory with a population of more than 2.8 million, has developed rapidly since China's fourth meeting on the work of Tibet in June 2001.

Following are some key facts and figures about the region's development since the meeting, which were revealed at a press conference on the sidelines of the annual session of the National People's Congress (NPC) on Sunday:

-- The average annual growth of Tibet's gross domestic product (GDP) stood at 12.3 percent from 2002 to 2009.

-- Tibetan rural residents get 1,400 yuan (205 U.S.dollars) of government subsidies per capita a year according to the latest standard. The per capita net income of farmers and herds people in Tibet stood at 3,589 yuan in 2009, up more than 13 percent year on year.

-- A total of 180 billion yuan was invested in infrastructure construction, of which 110 billion came from the central government.

-- More than 6 billion yuan was used in environmental protection in the region, and another 9.8 billion will be spent on it in the next five years.

-- More than 150 billion yuan was invested in more than 5,000 projects in Tibet by 17 other provincial regions and 17 state-owned enterprises. More than 2,400 cadres from across the country have been dispatched to work in Tibet.

-- The region received 5.61 million visitors in 2009.

-- The illiteracy rate in Tibet declined to 2.4 percent from 98 percent 50 years ago.