China had 989 million internet users by the end of last year, among which 21 percent were students, according to the latest statistical report on China's internet development.

In second place were individual business owners and freelancers (16.9 percent) followed by migrant workers (12.7 percent).

The report, released by the China Internet Network Information Center, said that 32.7 percent of China's internet users had a monthly salary of 2,000-5,000 yuan, 29.3 percent over 5,000 yuan and 15.3 percent below 1,000 yuan.

By the end of December, the ratio of junior and senior high school students internet users stood at 40.3 percent and 20.6 percent, respectively, while the share of elementary school students or below rose to 19.3 percent from 17.2 percent in March 2020.

The internet connection rate in primary and middle schools has reached 99.7 percent, the report said, adding that as of December 2020, e-learning users totaled 342 million, accounting for 34.6 percent of China's total internet population.