By the end of 2011, the total annual expenditure for urban subsistence allowances reached 65.99 billion yuan ($10.4 billion), up 25.8 percent over the previous year. A total of 66.77 billion yuan was spent on rural residents, an increase of 50 percent compared to 2010, reported People's Daily on Monday, citing the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

The total expenditure in subsistence allowances amounted to 132.8 billion yuan.

According to the data released by MOCA, as of 2011, 22.76 million urban and 53.05 million rural low-income residents need subsistence allowances.

The national average standard of urban monthly subsistence allowances was 287.6 yuan per capita, up 14.5 percent over the previous year. The monthly average for rural residents increased by 22.4 percent, at 143.2 yuan per person, said MOCA.