Report shows explosive growth in China's internet userbase

The number of Chinese netizens surpassed 1.06 billion as of the end of last year, 35.49 million more than in December 2021, according to a report released by the China Internet Network Information Center on Thursday.

Of the total, more than 1 billion are short-video users, meaning this format has become more involved in people's daily lives and enriched other industries, including livestreaming, e-commerce, education and tourism.

As the number of short-video users has been rising in recent years, content provided through those platforms have also diversified, encompassing topics like scientific studies, employment and rural development.

The country has seen a rise of netizens under the age of 18 in the past four years, with most children having access to the internet before or during primary school.

Thanks to various measures taken to prevent children from being too immersed in cyberspace, the number of youngsters who used the internet to watch livestreams or support fandoms dropped last year.

The report also revealed the online office market saw a jump in vitality last year, with some 540 million netizens applying for work via online platforms, 70.78 million more than December 2021.

In addition, 363 million people have accessed healthcare services through the internet, 34 percent of all netizens.