China's official news agency says membership in the country's Communist Party has surpassed 80 million.

The Xinhua news agency reported Friday that party membership swelled to 80.27 million in 2010, an increase of two million from 2009.

Xinhua quoted Wang Qinfeng, deputy head of the Organization Department of the CPC Central committee, as saying that among the members, more than 18 million are women and more than five million are people from ethnic minorities. Wang added that farmers, herders and fishers make up the largest segment of the party.