China had nearly 220,000 eldercare service institutions and facilities at the end of June, with over 7.9 million beds for the elderly, the Ministry of Civil Affairs said Friday.

The number of institutions and beds shows a year-on-year growth of 26.6 percent and 7.7 percent respectively, the ministry said.

As of the end of 2019, the country's urban and rural subsistence allowances had covered a total of 14.47 million elderly, and more than 35 million had enjoyed various types of welfare plans and subsidies for seniors, Li Banghua, deputy director of the ministry's elderly service bureau, told a press conference.

Li noted that the institutional framework for eldercare services has been steadily improving during China's 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-2020), offering better services for seniors while making sure the basic needs of those with difficulties are met.

As China's aged population is likely to exceed 300 million in the next five years, more efforts will be made to train eldercare service providers to ensure that 10,000 nursing home directors and 100,000 part-time or full-time social workers in the field are trained by the end of 2022, Li added.

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