An estimated 1,370 elderly Chinese people go missing every day, that is, about half a million individuals aged 60 years and above per year, according to a new report by the Zhongmin Social Assistance Institute on Sunday.

More than 80 percent of the missing elderly were found in big cities, while only half (50%) in rural communities. Most of the cases, however, occurred on less-developed, small cities where relatives tend to leave their elderly to find better-paying jobs in larger cities, the Telegraph reported.

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China has around 222 million elderly last year, and more than half of them live without their children and usually reside on rural areas, the Sixth Tone noted.

"The situation of elderly people going missing is more serious in rural areas than in cities," Yang Fan, a research fellow at the Shanghai Jiao Tong University, told Sixth Tone. "Few care services can be provided to old people in rural areas. Even if they have memory issues, elderly couples or singles have to take care of themselves."

 Meanwhile, many of those who went missing were suffering from mental illnesses. About three-quarters (72%) had memory impairment, while a quarter (25%) were diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer's disease, The Star noted citing Xiong Guibin, the co-author of the report.

According to the Telegraph, a law was passed in Beijing obliging adult children to visit aging parents. Included on the list of obligations to provide for is "the spiritual needs of the elderly." Although many criticized that the measures were too difficult, such were indicators of Beijing's concern about the growing elderly population.

China's elderly population is expected to reach 240 million, account for 17 percent of the country's total population, by the end of the decade, Liu Qian, deputy head of the National Health and Family Planning Commission, said.

Tagswelfare, family, china, Elderly population, mental health, missing elderly, China missing elderly