Statistical Communiqué of the People's Republic of China on the 2024 National Medical and Healthcare Development

I. Health Resources

1. Total Number of Medical and Health Institutions

By the end of 2024, the total number of medical and health institutions nationwide reached 1,093,551, an increase of 22,766 compared to the previous year. This includes 38,710 hospitals, 1,040,023 primary healthcare institutions, and 10,547 specialized public health institutions. Compared to the previous year, there was an increase of 355 hospitals and 23,785 primary healthcare institutions.

Within the category of hospitals, there were 11,754 public hospitals and 26,956 private hospitals. Hospitals were classified into three levels: 4,111 were Grade III hospitals (including 1,876 Grade III-A hospitals), 12,294 were Grade II hospitals, 13,287 were Grade I hospitals, and 9,018 were unclassified hospitals.

2. Total Number of Health Personnel

By the end of 2024, the total number of health personnel in the country was 15.78 million, an increase of 542,000 (3.6%) compared to the previous year. Among these health personnel, there were 5.082 million practicing (assistant) physicians and 5.855 million registered nurses. The distribution of health personnel at the end of 2024 was as follows: 9.374 million in hospitals (accounting for 59.4%), 5.257 million in primary healthcare institutions (accounting for 33.3%), and 1.005 million in specialized public health institutions (accounting for 6.4%).

3. Total Health Expenditure

The preliminary estimate of China's total health expenditure in 2024 was 9,089.55 billion yuan, including government health expenditure of 2,260.8 billion yuan (24.9%), social health expenditure of 4,328 billion yuan (47.6%), and individual health expenditure of 2,500.75 billion yuan (27.5%). The per capita total health expenditure was 6,454.4 yuan, and health expenditure accounted for 6.7% of GDP.

II. Medical Services

1. Outpatient and Inpatient Volume

In 2024, the total number of medical visits in China was 10.15 billion, an increase of 0.6 billion (6.2%) compared to the previous year. 

Among the total number of medical visits in 2024, Grade III hospitals accounted for 2.87 billion visits (28.3%), GradeⅠhospitals, Grade II hospitals, and primary healthcare institutions for 6.76 billion visits (66.6%), unclassified hospitals for 0.17 billion visits (1.7%), and other healthcare institutions for 0.35 billion visits (3.4%). Compared to the previous year, Grade III hospital visits increased by 0.24 billion, while visits to GradeⅠhospitals, Grade II hospitals, and primary healthcare institutions increased by 0.35 billion.

In 2024, public hospitals had 3.77 billion medical visits (83.7% of the total hospital visits), and private hospitals had 0.73 billion medical visits (16.3% of the total hospital visits). 

In 2024, township health centers and community health service centers (stations) had 3.98 billion medical visits, an increase of 0.23 billion compared to the previous year.

2. Improving Medical Services

As of the end of 2024, 65.7% of public hospitals at the Grade II level and above offered appointment-based medical visits, 90.4% implemented clinical pathway management, 68% provided remote medical services, 90.4% participated in mutual recognition of examination results at the same level, and 93.6% provided high-quality nursing services.

3. Blood Supply Assurance

In 2024, the total number of voluntary blood donations reached 15.82 million, with a blood collection volume of 26.92 million units, and a blood donation rate of 11.4 per thousand people.

III. Disease Control and Public Health

Infectious Disease Reporting, Incidence, and Mortality

In 2024, the reported incidence of Class A and Class B infectious diseases (excluding COVID-19) in the country was 3.367 million cases, with 25,000 reported deaths. The top five reported diseases in terms of incidence were viral hepatitis, syphilis, pulmonary tuberculosis, pertussis, and gonorrhea, accounting for 92.4% of the total reported cases of Class A and Class B infectious diseases. The top five reported diseases in terms of mortality were HIV/AIDS, viral hepatitis, pulmonary tuberculosis, rabies, and pertussis, accounting for 99.7% of the total reported deaths from Class A and Class B infectious diseases.

IV. Maternal and Child Health and Aging

Maternal and Child Health

In 2024, the rate of antenatal care for pregnant women was 98.3%, and the rate of postpartum visits was 97.3%. Compared to the previous year, both the antenatal care rate and postpartum visit rate increased. The inpatient delivery rate in 2024 was 99.95%, achieving virtually all inpatient deliveries. In 2024, the systematic management rate for children under 3 years old reached 94.9%, and the systematic management rate for pregnant women reached 94.9%, both showing improvement compared to the previous year.

National Free Preconception Health Examination Program

Free preconception health examinations are widely conducted in all regions of the country, providing health education, health checks, risk assessments, and counseling for rural couples planning to conceive. In 2024, a total of 7.164 million couples planning to conceive received free examinations, with an average coverage rate of 93.2% for the target population. Those identified as at-risk individuals received targeted counseling and guidance, as well as referrals for treatment, effectively reducing the risk of birth defects through preconception preventive measures.

Promoting Elderly Health Services and Integrated Medical and Care Services

As of the end of 2024, there were 6 national clinical medical research centers for elderly diseases nationwide. There were 7,436 general hospitals with geriatric medicine departments at the Grade II level and above, 15,624 general hospitals and 39,138 primary healthcare institutions that had been transformed into elderly-friendly healthcare institutions. Additionally, there were 85,000 pairs of healthcare and elderly care service institutions that had signed cooperative agreements, and a total of 8,427 healthcare and elderly care integrated institutions had both the necessary licenses for medical practice and elderly care institution records.

Reference: 2024 年我国卫生健康事业发展统计公报