BEIJING -?China will build more child welfare institutions in county-level regions as part of its efforts to improve welfare networks, according to the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The ministry plans to establish homes in counties with a population of more than 500,000 people to provide 35,000 more new beds for orphans in the next three to five years.

Most orphans live in the countryside but child welfare agencies are available in only a minority of county-level regions, said vice minister of civil affairs Dou Yupei.

About 80 percent of beds for orphans are provided in cities, Dou added.

The authorities began to solve the supply-demand imbalance a few years ago with 463 institutions built from 2006 to 2010.

According to ministry statistics, China had 549,000 orphans by the end of 2013, with only 98,000 beds available for them.

Around 110,000 orphans live in social welfare homes, including more than 50,000 living with old people or the disabled.