Internet development is an indispensable part of a region's economic prosperity. [Photo/VCG]

East China's Zhejiang released an official report on internet development in 2018, detailing the province's internet-related achievements in terms of facilities, information technology, digital economy and network security.

The report shows that Zhejiang is leading the country in number of netizens, internet popularization, technological innovation, digital development of government services, and overall management of the online world.

By the end of 2018, there had been 45.437 million netizens in Zhejiang, 5.877 million more than the previous year, and the popularization rate of the internet in the province reached 79.2 percent, 19.6 percent higher than the national average. Among netizens, 44.98 million are mobile phone users, according to the report.

The growth of mobile phone users was partly attributed to the coverage of 4G network and the push toward developing 5G.

The report shows that in 2018, Zhejiang province took a number of measures to speed up the development of 5G technology. By 2018, more than 500 5G pilot bases had been set up in China's first 5G experience area in Hangzhou, covering an area of over 100 square kilometers.

Digital economy is the "No 1 Project" of Zhejiang and a key part of internet development. Official figures reveal that last year, core industries of digital economy grew 13.1 percent to 554.77 billion yuan ($80.36 billion). Zhejiang's digital economy accounted for 17.5 percent of the province's GDP in 2018 and ranked fourth nationwide.

When it comes to the digital development of government services, Zhejiang has made strides in improving its governance system and modernizing its governance capacity through the use of information technology. By the end of 2018, more than 20.21 million people had registered at the government services website and 11 billion pieces of data had been collected by a public platform.

The report also shows that internet technology has been widely applied in the fields of healthcare, education, transportation, culture and tourism, and elderly care.