Two coastal provinces, Jiangsu and Guangdong, together with Beijing, were ranked among the three most economically competitive localities on the Chinese mainland in 2012, according to a blue paper released on Thursday.

The blue paper on the economic competitiveness of 31 provincial-level localities on the Chinese mainland, was published by the Social Sciences Academic Press.

According to the blue paper's ranking, the top three competitive localities were followed by the city of Shanghai, Zhejiang and Shandong provinces. Anhui and Jilin provinces registered the biggest progress in terms of economic competitiveness.

At the bottom of the chart is the Tibet Autonomous Region.

The report used data on the economic conditions of the 31 provincial regions between 2011 and 2012. The areas were assessed using major indices such as macro-economy, industrial mix, finance and taxation, sustainable development, and scientific innovation, among other fields.