Over the past 60 years, Tibet has witnessed a historic leap in its economic and social development, thanks to the care of the Chinese Central Authorities and the support of the whole nation, says a white paper titled "Sixty Years Since Peaceful Liberation of Tibet" issued on Monday.

According the white paper issued by the Information Office of the State Council, from 1959 to 2010 fixed assets investment in the region totaled 275.1 billion yuan (42.5 billion U.S. dollars), registering an average annual growth of over 15 percent.

The local GDP soared from 129 million yuan in 1951 to 50.746 billion yuan in 2010, a 111.8-fold increase or an average annual growth of 8.3 percent at comparable prices, it says.

In 2010 the per-capita GDP was 17,319 yuan, and the local budgetary receipts reached 3.665 billion yuan, showing an average annual growth of over 20 percent for eight consecutive years, the white paper says.

The region now has a modern industrial system covering over 20 sectors with distinctive local features, including energy, light industry, textiles, machinery, mining, building materials, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, food processing, folk handicrafts and Tibetan medicine, and the total industrial output value increased from 1.4 million yuan in 1956 to 7.561 billion yuan in 2010, registering an annual growth rate of 14.1 percent, it says.

Moreover, Tibet's energy, transportation and other basic industries are also flourishing, it says.

According to the white paper, in 2010 the installed power-generating capacity in Tibet reached 974,000 kw, and more than 82 percent of the population had access to electricity.

All townships and more than 80 percent of the administrative villages in Tibet have gained access to highways, which now total 58,200 km, it says.

An airport layout has taken shape in Tibet, catering to 22 domestic and international air services, the white paper says.

In the old days Tibet's agriculture and animal husbandry were completely at the mercy of the weather. Nowadays, modern facilities have been widely introduced, it says.

Grain output rose from 182,900 tonnes in 1959 to 920,000 tonnes in 2010, and the grain output per mu (15 mu equal one ha.) rose from 91 kg in 1959 to 357.4 kg in 2008, it says.