The Chinese government will aggressively develop support services for home care for the elderly over the next three years, given that those aged above 60 account for more than 11 percent of the 1.3 billion population.

All urban communities would be required to offer care services for the aged by the end of 2010, under a work plan released on Thursday by 10 government departments, including the China National Committee on Aging (CNCA) and the National Development and Reform Commission.

About 80 percent of rural towns are to establish comprehensive service centers for the aged and one third of villages should set up structures that would allow the aged to access home care, the plan said.

"The different requirements were based on different economic and social conditions in urban and rural areas," said the CNCA's executive deputy director, Li Bengong.

China faces an increasing social security burden with the rapid growth of the aged. There are more than 149 million Chinese aged 60 or older, of whom only 6 percent to 8 percent are willing to enter retirement homes, according to a CNCA report.

CNCA deputy-director Yan Qingchun said that "the number of the aged who cannot live by themselves has seen a big increase in recent years."

Among the 38.56 million elderly urban residents, 14.6 percent, or 5.64 million people as of 2006, cannot live by themselves and need care. There were only 4.14 million such elderly urban residents as of 2000.

Traditionally, most elderly Chinese lived with their children after retirement. But in recent years, the numbers of empty nesters in cities and rural areas increased.

The CNCA report revealed that nearly half, or 49.7 percent, of elderly persons in urban areas lived in "empty nest" households in 2006, while 50.3 percent stayed with relatives. In rural areas, 38.3 percent of the elderly lived alone, while 61.7 percent resided with relatives.