Research released on Monday by a top Chinese think tank showed that the mainland had more than 446,000 NGOs employing 6.18 million people as of the end of 2010.

That year saw the establishment of 15,000 NGOs, including public and private foundations, and private nonprofit groups, according to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences blue book.

Education was the most common sector for new NGOs, followed by social services and health, the data showed.

The report pointed out that NGOs play an increasingly important role in China's economy, with the value of fixed assets of NGOs on the mainland reaching 186.4 billion yuan ($29 billion) in 2010, a rise of 81 percent compared with the previous year.

It also predicted that the government will gradually loosen registration rules for NGOs and offer more support for their development.