BEIJING — China had a total of 38,000 nursing homes for the elderly by the end of 2020, up 10.4 percent from the previous year, according to a conference on elderly care services on Feb 5.

Elderly care institutions across the country can provide over 8.2 million beds for people in need, an increase of 7.3 percent year-on-year, official statistics show.

In 2020, China increased its supply of elderly care services and rapidly developed its home and community-based elderly care services, according to the conference.

In line with the work tasks for 2021, the conference demanded concerted efforts in five areas, including compiling an elderly care service plan for the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), advancing the building of a basic elderly care service system, as well as promoting the development of elderly care services in rural areas.

At the end of 2019, China's elderly population aged 60 and above reached 254 million, accounting for 18.1 percent of the total.