ZHENGZHOU, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- Central China's Henan Province lifted more than 1.2 million people out of poverty last year, with its poverty headcount ratio dropping from 2.57 percent in 2017 to 1.21 percent, local authorities said Tuesday.

A total of 2,502 impoverished villages in the densely populated province shook off poverty last year, said Shi Bingrui, head of the Henan Provincial Office of Poverty Alleviation and Development.

He added that Henan was committed to improving public services, including healthcare and education, in its rural and poverty-stricken areas last year. The province also helped its poor residents repair dilapidated houses and used relocation as a means of poverty reduction.

By the end of 2018, there were still around one million Henan residents living under the poverty line, with illness and disability the main causes for their predicament.

China aims to eradicate absolute poverty by 2020.