One third of China's provinces and municipalities that have released their annual economic data so far have registered growth in urban disposable incomes that is faster than their GDP growth rate.

The six are: Shanghai and the provinces of Jiangsu, Shandong, Liaoning, Hebei and Shanxi.

The gap varies from 0.4 to 0.9 of a percentage point, with the largest gap occurring in Shandong, where GDP grew by 9.8 percent while urban disposable incomes grew by 10.7 percent.

Shanghai residents enjoyed the highest disposable income of 40,188 yuan ($6,462), while the Ningxia Hui autonomous region was the lowest, with an average annual income of 19,831 yuan.

GDP per capita in Zhejiang and Jiangsu passed $10,000 for the first time, an income level regarded as that of a "middle-developed nation" internationally.

The two provinces followed Shanghai, Beijing and Tianjin in passing the $10,000 figure.

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