GUIYANG -- The economies of China's western regions were among the fastest developing economies nationwide in 2011 and are expected to maintain their status this year, according to a report issued by Social Sciences Academy Press on Saturday.

The report said the regional GDP reached 9.97 trillion yuan ($1.56trillion) in 2011 in 12 western provincial-level regions, including Inner Mongolia, Guangxi, Chongqing, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Tibet, Shaanxi, Gansu, Qinghai, Ningxia and and Xinjiang.

The report cited a steady decline in the impoverished population, the improvement of family income structures and increased housing as the results of poverty alleviation efforts in the west.

However, the report indicated that poverty has had a "boomerang effect" in some regions, with some areas that were previously out of poverty becoming impoverished again.

The report said authorities should establish a system of poverty alleviation "with more bodies involved", improve the insurance system for natural disasters that affect agriculture and enhance education for impoverished people.