BEIJING - The Communist Party of China (CPC), the world's largest political party, witnessed a slower membership growth rate last year as the Party began to enlist new members in a more prudent and balanced manner.

The CPC had 86.69 million members at the end of 2013, up 1.8 percent year on year, according to figures from the Organization Department of the CPC Central Committee.

The growth rate was 1.3 percentage points down from the previous year, said a department statement on Monday, one day before the 93rd anniversary of the CPC's founding.

Last year, 2.41 million people joined the Party, 825,000 less than that of 2012. The net increase was 1.56 million.