URUMQI -- The penetration rate of mobile phones in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region stood at 117.5 per 100 people in 2021, said the regional communications management department.

In 2021, the number of mobile phone users in Xinjiang exceeded 29.65 million, an increase of over 1.18 million over the previous year, according to the department.

The penetration rate of mobile broadband subscribers reached 95.7 per 100 people in the region last year.

Xinjiang's telecom revenue hit 26 billion yuan (about $4.1 billion) last year, up 9.4 percent year on year.

The region has invested nearly 2 billion yuan in building over 19,000 5G base stations and will strengthen support for the digital economy while promoting digital industrialization in 2022, the department said.