BEIJING - China's permanent urban residents stood at 749.16 million at the end of 2014, accounting for 54.77 percent of the country's total population, new data showed Tuesday.

The proportion rose from a ratio of 53.73 percent at the end of 2013, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said in a statement.

Total population in China's 31 provincial level regions reached 1.37 billion, up 0.52 percent from a year earlier.

By the end of last year, 772.53 million people were employed, up 2.76 million, or 0.36 percent, from a year earlier, the NBS said.