Source: CCTV.com

03-30-2009 13:49

The Beijing-based China Tibetology Research Center published a comprehensive report on Tibet's economic and social development on Monday, outlining the region's changes over the past 50 years.

The report said Tibet's per capita GDP was almost 14,000  yuan last year, a giant leap from the 142 yuan recorded in 1959.

The report said Tibet's per capita GDP was almost 14,000 yuan last year, a giant leap from the 142 yuan recorded in 1959, when the Chinese central government began democratic reform there. Although the 2008 figure was still much less than the national average of 22,698 yuan, the report said it must be taken into account that the region's economic growth started from a very low level.

The report attributed the robust economic development to the central government's fiscal transfer payments and input for various projects in the region, as well as assistance from more developed inland provinces and cities.

In infrastructure, a 51,300-km network of highways had connected every county in the region by the end of last year. This spurred on growth in tourism, housing, hospitality and entertainment.

The telecommunication sector in Tibet also registered unprecedented progress in the past half century, with the number of telephones rising from 276 in the whole region in 1959, to 55 for every 100 people now. With some 800 websites, its Internet population has also neared 200,000.

Click for more news in Biz China>>

Editor:Xiong Qu