"The figure is not yet finalised but I hope it will only increase slightly from 711 as I expect we could have the final figure by the end of this month," said Wallop Ploythabthim of the social development and human security ministry.

"Less than 100 children have had both father and mother killed, and the majority of orphans are currently living with their relatives," Wallop told

Among those orphaned, 630 were from the six affected provinces of Phang Nga, Phuket, Krabi, Ranong, Trang and Satun, while the remaining 81 were from elsewhere but their parents had been working in tsunami-hit areas.

Wallop said the government would provide orphans with scholarships through to university level and provide clothes and educational materials.

Foreign Minister Surakiart Sathirathai had said on January 12 that 323 Thai children had lost one or both parents in the disaster.

Tsunami orphans have become focal points of the charity and assistance effort in Thailand and the wider south Asian region, but they have also been the subjects of controversy in the wake of the tragedy.

In Sir Lanka, a baby grabbed world media attention as a "celebrated" tsunami orphan when a row broke out over several couples claiming him as their own.

Last week Italy's Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi donated half a million euros (650 million dollars) to a Sri Lankan orphans programme.

But the world's biggest grouping of Islamic nations, the Organisation of Islamic Conference, has established an alliance to rescue tsunami orphans from "illegal" foreign influences, Malaysian media said Saturday.

There were reports earlier this month that misionary groups would place orphans from Indonesia's stricken Aceh province in Christian children's homes, drawing protests from the world's largest Muslim country.