The Communist Party of China (CPC), China's ruling party, had 68.232 million members by the end of 2003, an increase of 1.291 million from the previous year, said sources with the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee.

16.023 million people nationwide filed applications for CPC membership in 2003, up 5.9 percent year-on-year. 2.235 million people were recruited as CPC members the same year, 139,000 more than the previous year.

Female CPC members number 12.353 million, accounting for 18.1 percent of the total; minorities are 4.322 million, accounting for 6.3 percent; and 25.7 percent with degree of junior college or above. 15.297 million CPC members aged 35 or below, while 37.587 million aged from 36 to 59.

Official statistics show that 1.098 million joined CPC before the foundation of New China in 1949; 9.718 million during the period from 1949 to the breaking out of the so-called Cultural Revolution in 1966; 13.353 million during the Cultural Revolution between 1966 and 1976; 20.73 million from 1976 to 1992; and 23.333 million since 1992.

Among the CPC members nationwide, 7.942 million are workers; 20 million government officials, managerial personnel in government-sponsored enterprises and institutions, and technical staff; 22.17 million farmers, herdsmen and fishermen; and the rest are soldiers, students, and retirees.

The Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee released the statistics to mark the 83th anniversary of the CPC, which falls on July 1.