BEIJING, April 21 (Xinhua) -- The number of private enterprises in China exceeded 57 million by the end of March, accounting for 92.3 percent of the total tally, official data showed Monday.

In the first quarter, the number of newly established private enterprises in the country reached 1.979 million, marking an increase of 7.1 percent year on year and surpassing the average growth rate of the past three years, according to the State Administration for Market Regulation.