BEIJING - The number of specialized social workers in China has reached 300,000, including over 80,000 who qualified after passing the government exam, according to a blue book published here on Tuesday.

"A Report on the Development of Social Work in China (2011-2012)" was published by the Social Work Research Center, under the Ministry of Civil Affairs, in collaboration with the Social Sciences Academic Press, under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

It is the second of its kind to be published in the country. The first covered 2009-2010.

In China, "Social Work" refers to such sectors as social welfare, social assistance, poverty elimination, marriage and family affairs, mental health, disabled persons' rehabilitation, employment assistance, and prevention of crimes.

By 2015 and 2020, the number of Chinese social specialists is projected to top 500,000 and 1.45 million, respectively, according to a government plan which calls for greater efforts to train more social-work specialists.

The country has had five national tests on the qualification of social workers so far.