(Beijing) – At least two-thirds of China's provinces, regions and municipalities failed to meet their targets for gross domestic product growth for last year, prompting regional governments to lower their projections for 2015.

Among the 22 provinces and regions that have released macroeconomic statistics for 2014, and only the western region of Tibet managed to meet its target of 11 percent.

Chongqing, in the southwest, also managed double-digit growth, of 10.9 percent, but fell short of its 11 percent goal.

The coal-rich northern province of Shanxi was among the worst performers in terms of GDP growth, reporting expansion of 4.9 percent, 4.1 percentage points off its target.

Coal production in the country fell by 2.1 percent year on year to 3.52 billion tons in the first eleven months last year, the Security Times reported on January 23, citing data from the China National Coal Association.

The association said that weak demand would cause output for all of 2014 to drop by 2.5 percent, the first contraction in 14 years.

The National Bureau of Statistics has said that the country's GDP expanded by 7.4 percent to 63 trillion yuan in 2014, the lowest growth rate in 24 years. The bureau blamed the lower growth figure on a lack of activity in manufacturing.

Last year, the added value of the primary industry grew by 4.1 percent year on year to 5.83 trillion yuan.

Nine provinces have not released their economic data, but the manufacturing-heavy northeastern provinces of Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning recorded growth over the first three quarters of 5.2 percent, 6.5 percent and 6.2 per cent, respectively. They had aimed for growth of 8 percent for the year.

The provinces of Shandong and Jiangsu, economic powerhouses on the coast, have not released their data, but in January they estimated their economies grew by 8.7 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively. Both had set their goals at 9 percent.

Many parts of the country have set lower goals for growth this year. Guizhou, in the southwest, set the bar at 8.5 percent, 2.5 percentage points lower than in 2014.

Ningxia, in the northwest, cut its projection by 2 percentage points to 8 percent, and the port city of Tianjin made a similar cut, predicting growth of around 9 percent.

For the first time, Shanghai declined to set a growth target. The coastal city's 2014 goal was 7.5 per cent, according to its statistics bureau, but its economy grew by only 7 percent, its lowest figure since 1991.

Critics say setting GDP targets blinds officials to other considerations, such as taking care of the environment. That has become a greater concern for the ruling Communist party as many cities grapple with worsening air, water and soil pollution.

(Rewritten by Li Rongde)