A report published on Tuesday shows that the number of orphans on the Chinese mainland has increased by 24 percent in the past five years, according to The Beijing News on June 1.

The China Children Welfare Policy Report 2011, jointly launched by the Ministry of Civil Affairs, the One Foundation Philanthropy Research Institute of Beijing Normal University and UNICEF, revealed that in 2010 the number of orphans on the Chinese mainland had reached 712,000, about 24 percent higher than 2005's figure of 574,000.

By the end of 2008, there were about 5.04 million handicapped children under 17 years of age and 58 million children of "left-behind" status. The number of children affected with HIV/AIDS is also expected to have grown from 496,000 in 2008 to 894,000 at the end of 2010, according to the report.

The report also advises the government to take measures to guarantee treatment for sick children, living expenses for disabled kids, and more extensive pre-school education. It is estimated that 60 billion yuan ($9.26 billion) would suffice to defray the costs of the above-mentioned services.