BEIJING, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- China's per capita consumer spending increased by 6.2 percent year on year in real terms to reach 19,853 yuan (2,877 U.S. dollars) in 2018, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Monday.

The growth rate was 0.8 percentage point higher than that recorded in the previous year.

In breakdown, consumer spending in urban areas rose 6.8 percent year on year to 26,112 yuan, 0.9 percentage point higher than that recorded in the previous year.

Rural consumer spending stood at 12,124 yuan, up 10.7 percent from the previous year, 2.6 percentage points higher than that of 2017. The breakdown figures were calculated in nominal terms.

In 2018, retail sales rose 6.9 percent year on year, in real terms, to 38.1 trillion yuan.

The growth rate of retail sales grew faster, by 10.1 percent, in rural areas than the 8.8 percent growth in urban regions.

In December, retail sales grew 8.2 percent year on year, in nominal terms, to reach 3.59 trillion yuan, 0.1 percentage point higher than that recorded in November.

In 2018, online retail sales rose 24 percent to 9 trillion yuan.