BEIJING, July 29 (Xinhua) -- China had spent 8.61 billion yuan (1.25 billion U.S. dollars) to support people in special difficulties by the end of March 2019, the Ministry of Civil Affairs (MCA) said on Monday.

Photo: VCG

More than 4.78 million people are living in difficult situations in the country, including the elderly, the disabled and minors who are incapable of working, have no source of income, and have no others to rely on for support.

Among the needy people, nearly 4.5 million are from rural areas while the remaining 286,000 from urban areas, said Jia Weizhou, a spokesperson for the MCA, at a press conference.

Meanwhile, a total of 62.77 billion yuan had been allocated as subsistence allowances to 44 million people by the end of May 2019, 9.4 million of whom are from urban areas, Jia said.