This is the 1829th most frequent Chinese word.
近年
"Recent years."
In this sentence, '近年' is used as a temporal term to refer broadly to the recent years.
近年经济迅速发展。
The economy has developed rapidly in recent years.
'近年' here serves to pinpoint the recent timeframe within which the described trend has emerged.
近年许多人开始注重健康生活。
Many people have started to pay attention to healthy living in recent years.
The usage of '近年' in this sentence identifies a general period in the past recent years impacting the described developments.