KUNMING, (Xinhua) -- The urbanization rate of permanent residents in southwest China's Yunnan Province reached 51.05 percent by the end of 2021, local authorities said Tuesday.

It was an increase of 12.58 percentage points compared with 2012, when the urbanization rate was 38.47 percent, said the provincial development and reform commission.

Over the past decade, the province has been improving its education, health care, social security, housing system, and service capabilities in culture and sports to support rural residents to settle in urban areas.

The city cluster in the central part of Yunnan has an urbanization rate of 62.15 percent. Covering 28.3 percent of the province's total land area, the city cluster contributed 61.47 percent of the province's GDP in 2021.

The province's border cities and towns have also witnessed a higher level of opening up. In 2021, the GDP of the 25 border cities and counties reached 298.48 billion yuan (42.9 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for 11 percent of the province's total GDP.  ■