BEIJING -- China's postal industry registered steady growth in 2019 driven by the country's express delivery sector, official data showed.

The postal industry saw business revenue rise 22 percent year on year to reach 964.25 billion yuan (about $140 billion) last year, according to the State Post Bureau (SPB).

The express delivery sector, the backbone of the postal service, saw fast expansion, as courier firms made 63.52 billion deliveries during the period, up 25.3 percent year on year.

The business revenue of these courier firms jumped 24.2 percent year on year to reach 749.78 billion yuan.

The SPB predicted that the business revenue of the country's postal services would rise 15 percent year on year in 2020.

The country has remained the world's largest express delivery market for six consecutive years, with some 20,000 express delivery enterprises and more than 3 million employees.