BEIJING - The value-added output of the China's cultural industry rose to 1.11 trillion yuan ($173.98 billion) in 2010, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Friday.

Its ratio to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose to 2.75 percent, up 0.18 percentage points from a year earlier and 0.81 percentage points higher than in 2004, said a report posted on the NBS website.

During the 2008-2010 period, the surveyed industrial entities reported an annual increase of 24.2 percent in value-added output, higher than the current GDP growth rate, the report said.

From 2004 to 2008, the sector's value-added output grew by 23.3 percent annually on average, nearly 5 percentage points higher than the GDP growth calculated at current prices during the period, the report said.

The report noted that the sector's structure has improved over recent years. The value-added output of cultural service suppliers accounted for 53.7 percent of the sector's total, up 13.7 percentage points from 2004.

Meanwhile, the value-added output of cultural goods producers and cultural goods sellers accounted for 39.7 percent and 5.8 percent of the sector's total, down 8 percentage points and 4.8 percentage points, respectively, from 2004.

The cultural industry as a term covers activities that provide cultural, entertainment goods and services, as well as other associated services, according to the NBS.