(Yicai Global) Oct. 16 -- China's Engel coefficient fell 2.9 percentage points in 2016 to 30.1 percent, driven by growing income and the rapid development of multiple industries, Ning Jizhe, head of China's National Bureau of Statistics, said in a recent press briefing.

The measurement is an indicator of the proportion of income spent on food and reflects a nation's standard of living. A lower number denotes a higher standard of living.

China's latest figure shows it is approaching the well-off range of 20 to 30 percent for standard of living, as set out by the United Nations.

The country's coefficient for urban residents fell by 2.1 percentage points from 31.4 percent in 2012 to 29.3 percent in 2016, while in rural areas, it declined 5.3 percent from 37.5 percent to 32.2 percent over the same period.

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization divides the world's living standards based on the coefficient, that is, if the average reading of a country is above 60 percent, it will be categorized as poverty-stricken.

Engel coefficients between 50 percent and 60 percent are labeled as subsistent, 40 percent to 50 percent as relatively affluent, 20 percent to 30 percent as affluent, and below 20 percent as extremely affluent.

The gradual affluence of Chinese people has driven changes in the categories of goods sold on the market. Sales of durable goods and non-durable goods grew by 10.4 percent and 9 percent, respectively, from 2013 to 2016.