China has more than 40.6 million disabled or partially disabled senior citizens, accounting for 18.3 percent of the total aging population, according to a survey released Sunday.

Covering almost 224,000 people, the nationwide sample survey, jointly issued by the China National Committee on Aging, the Ministry of Civil Affairs and the Ministry of Finance, was the country's fourth survey to assess the living conditions of senior citizens aged 60 and above.

According to the survey, 52 percent of senior citizens in China lived in urban areas last year, an increase of 17.8 percent from 2000.

Meanwhile, 29.6 percent of Chinese senior citizens have never gone to school, down 23.2 percent from 2000, it said.

In 2014, the annual per-capita income of senior citizens was almost 24,000 yuan (around 3,593 U.S. dollars) and that of rural senior citizens exceeded 7,600 yuan, a rise of over 16,500 yuan and 5,900 yuan on the 2000 figures respectively.

China still faces challenges, as the proportion of the elderly population living in poverty or with poor health remains large, said the survey.

The country should set up a long-term care mechanism for the elderly via reforming the insurance system and providing subsidies, said Dang Junwu, deputy head of the China Research Center on Aging.

Source: Xinhua Agency