Beijing, Sep 18 (IANS): There has been a surge in the number of female billionaires in China, a media report said Wednesday.

More than half of the world's richest self-made female entrepreneurs are from China, the China Daily reported citing Hurun China's Women Rich List 2013.

Around 25 percent of the women are from the realty development sector, while 18 percent are from the finance and investment sector, the report said.

Pharmaceutical and manufacturing sectors represented nine percent each.

Eleven women debuted on the list in 2013, according to the China Daily report.

Yang Huiyan was declared the richest woman in China with a wealth of 51 billion yuan (around $8 billion), according to the list released by the Hurun Research Institute in Shanghai Tuesday.

Chairwoman of Fu Wah International Group, Chen Lihua, was ranked second with a fortune of 37 billion yuan.

Meanwhile, Wu Yajun, who was number one on the 2012 list, came in third position for 2013, the report added.