BEIJING -- China is stepping up efforts to have digital driver's licenses issued throughout the country by the end of 2021, the Ministry of Public Security said Wednesday.

According to the ministry, digital driver's licenses are now issued in 138 cities in the country. More than 32 million drivers have applied for theirs.

The digital driver's licenses are issued via an official traffic management mobile app and have legal effectiveness equal to physical ones.

On September 1, 28 cities, including Beijing and Shanghai, started issuing digital licenses. They were joined by another 110 cities, including Taiyuan and Shenyang, on October 20.