A government report, made public on Tuesday, highlighted China's progress in protecting human rights through improving people's livelihood.

The people's living standards are constantly on the rise as steady yet relatively rapid economic development has provided the foundation for a better livelihood for the Chinese people, says the report titled "Progress in China's Human Rights in 2012" issued by the Information Office of the State Council.

As China has a population of over 1.3 billion, it would be impossible to protect the people's rights and interests without first developing the economy to feed and clothe them, the report says.

"Development is the key to solving all existing problems and facilitating progress of human rights in China," it says.

The income growth of urban and rural residents outpaced the GDP growth in China, while the income growth of the rural residents surpassed that of urban counterparts, it says.

The annual per-capita net income for rural residents reached 7,917 yuan in 2012, up 13.5 percent over the previous year or 10.7 percent in real terms, according to the report.

The annual per-capita disposable income for urban residents was 24,565 yuan, an increase of 12.6 percent or 9.6 percent in real terms year on year.

In 2012 the Engel coefficients, or the proportion of food expenditure in the total consumption spending, per rural and urban household were 39.3 percent and 36.2 percent, respectively.

At the end of 2012 the per capita living space in China's urban and rural areas reached 32.9 square meters and 37.1 square meters, respectively, up 2.8 square meters and 5.5 square meters compared with 2007.

By the end of 2012 car ownership had reached 59.89 million, an increase of 20.7 percent over the previous year, among which 53.08 million were private cars, an increase of 22.8 percent.

The number of fixed and mobile phone users reached 1.4 billion, an increase of 118.96 million over that at the end of the previous year.

There were over 564 million Internet users in China, among whom 420 million access the Internet via mobile phones.

The number of domestic trips across China totaled 2.96 billion in 2012, and the number of outbound trips from the country reached 83.18 million, up 12.1 percent and 18.4 percent, respectively, over the previous year.

Among them, the number of trips abroad for private purposes reached 77.06 million, a year-on-year increase of 20.2 percent, accounting for 92.6 percent of the total.