Left-behind, migrant children in China nears 100 mln

Increasing number of rural workers heading for burgeoning cities has led to China's left-behind and migrant children totaling nearly 100 million.

The number of "left-behind children" hit 61.02 million as of 2010, accounting for 37.7 percent of rural children and 21.88 percent of the country's child population, according to a special report released by the All-China Women's Federation on Thursday.

The report, titled Research Report on Rural Left-Behind Children and Migrant Children, said the figure was 2.42 million more than that in 2005.

"Left-behind children" remain in rural homes by their migrant parents who go to work in cities far away to earn a living. The children are usually taken care of by their grandparents or other relatives.

The number of migrant children, which refers to children migrating with their parents to other places, reached 35.81 million in 2010, an increase of 41.37 percent compared with 2005, according to the report.

More than 80 percent of these migrant children are from rural areas, the report said.