2020 is a year to remember, a year hard to forget. As 2020 draws to a close, CGTN selected 10 numbers that tell China's story this year.

Above all, the country experienced COVID-19, which changed and is still changing life for hundreds of thousands of people.

The latest number of total confirmed cases in China was 86,913 as of Thursday, one week before the new year. Among them, 81,959 recovered and were discharged, accounting for 94 percent of the total.

China's effective control and prevention of the coronavirus and the availability of vaccines by the end of the year give people hope. But tracing back to the beginning, people in Wuhan, where the virus was first reported, were under lockdown for over 10 weeks. During that period, China mobilized the whole nation's manpower and resources to contain the outbreak in the city.

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76 days in Wuhan: The dawn is at hand

While the pandemic made the economy pause, China strived to maintain positive economic growth. The IMF forecasts China's GDP growth rate in 2020 will be 1.9 percent, which would make China the only country among major economies, including the United States, Germany and Japan, to have economic growth above zero this year.

The booming online market was one of the major contributors to domestic consumption and a boost to the national economy. Online shopping revenues exceeded 10 trillion yuan ($1.53 trillion) in the first 11 months.

In 2020, China lifted the entire rural population out of extreme poverty. Nearly 100 million people have shaken off poverty, fulfilling the goal set by the Chinese leadership ahead of the deadline to eradicate extreme poverty.

2020 is the last year of China's 13th Five-Year Plan. The 13 five-year plans have mapped out the course of China's economic and social development.

Read more:

Designing the Future: China's Five-Year Plans Since 1953

This year, China initiated the seventh national census. The national census provides a panoramic view of China's demographics and how the population is distributed regionally, which is integral for policymaking.

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Graphics: China's changing demographics through the decennial census

In a proposal unveiled in early November, the Communist Party of China Central Committee said authorities will delay the retirement age in a "progressive manner." China's current legal retirement age is 60 for male employees, 55 for female cadres and 50 for female workers.

This year, a one-month divorce cooling off period, which was introduced by China's first civil code adopted on May 28, raised heated discussion online. It will come into effect from January 1, 2021.

The COVID-19 pandemic pushed more people online. The number of active online users in China reached nearly 940 million as of June. Online entertainment services such as live-streaming and short video platforms continue to grow.