More than 53 percent of the children of migrant workers in Shanghai were left behind in their hometowns, according to a survey by the Shanghai Statistics Bureau on Monday.

The survey said children of migrant workers living outside Shanghai will struggle at school.

By the end of 2012, the migrant population in Shanghai exceeded 9.6 million, accounting for 40 percent of the total population, and more than 70 percent of them were migrant workers, who were over 16 years old and qualified to work.

The survey was based on interviews with 1,017 migrant workers in the final quarter of 2012.

The statistics showed that 80 percent of migrant workers in Shanghai were married, and 90 percent of their spouses were from their hometowns.

Among the married migrant workers, 82.2 percent of them came to Shanghai together and 76.6 percent lived together.

The report also suggested that migrant couples who live separately would probably face social problems.