About 26.1 million Chinese people are still in abject poverty in rural areas and 22 million urban residents live on minimum living allowance, Minister of Civil Affairs Li Xueju said on Tuesday.

China, the world's most populous country with a population of 1.3 billion, has set its poverty line at an annual per-capita income of 668 yuan (US$81).

According to Li, there are still another 49.77 million rural people with an annual per-capita income of less than 924 yuan (US$112).

"By the end of 2005, China will establish a social aid framework for rural and urban people in need in 90 percent of the provinces, covering 70 percent of the total countries," Li told a national conference.

China's central government has decided to pour 7.46 billion yuan (US$0.9 billion) in 2005 as special aid for the disabled servicemen or family members of revolutionary martyrs, a rise of 3.53 billion yuan over that of 2004.

In the first half of this year, the country has allocated 1.84 billion yuan as relief fund for spring disasters, assisting 45.52 million victims, according to Li.

According to Chinese official statistics, the population in abject poverty was reduced from 250 million to 26 million during 1978 and 2004. The ratio of the very poor to the total rural population has been reduced from 30.7 percent to 3.1 percent.

(Xinhua News Agency July 5, 2005)