Urban population outnumbers rural dwellers

The number of people living in China's cities for the first time exceeded those in the country's rural areas at the end of 2011, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Tuesday.

The number of urban dwellers increased by 21 million to hit 690.79 million at the end of 2011, accounting for 51.27 percent of the country's total, the NBS said.

Meanwhile, the rural population fell by 14.56 million to 656.56 million at the end of 2011, the NBS noted.