Nearly 36 million rural residents, or 3.8 percent of China's rural population, lived under the poverty line by the end of 2009, according to a white paper issued by the Information Office of the State Council Sunday.

Nationally, there were 40.07 million Chinese living under state poverty level, which was raised to 1,196 yuan (178 U.S. dollars) per person per year in 2009, says the white paper titled "Progress in China's Human Rights in 2009."

In 2009, the state's input of money for poverty reduction programs in rural areas amounted to 19.73 billion yuan, an increase of 3 billion yuan over the previous year, the white paper says.

According to the white paper, the per capita net income of rural residents was 5,153 yuan in 2009, an increase of 8.5 percent over the previous year.