Healthcare in China: how hospitals and primary care institutions are organised

China's National Health Commission counted 1093551 medical and health institutions at the end of 2024. Of these, 38710 were hospitals, 1040023 were primary medical and health institutions and 10547 were specialised public health institutions.

Hospitals by ownership and level

The commission's bulletin counts 11754 public hospitals and 26956 privately run hospitals (民营医院).

By level, the bulletin counts 4111 tertiary hospitals, 12294 secondary hospitals, 13287 primary hospitals and 9018 hospitals with no level assigned.

The bulletin says public hospitals hold 69.0 percent of hospital beds and privately run hospitals hold 31.0 percent.

Community health centres, township health centres and village clinics

Primary medical and health institutions include 37301 community health service centres and stations, made up of 10228 centres and 27073 stations.

They also include 33334 township health centres, 351736 clinics and medical rooms and 570410 village clinics.

Where consultations take place

Tertiary hospitals accounted for 28.3 percent of all consultations in 2024. First-level and second-level hospitals together with primary medical and health institutions accounted for 66.6 percent, hospitals with no level assigned for 1.7 percent and other institutions for 3.4 percent.

Public hospitals recorded 83.7 percent of hospital consultations in 2024, and privately run hospitals recorded 16.3 percent.

The national hospital bed occupancy rate was 78.8 percent, and the figure for public hospitals was 84.8 percent. Discharged patients in hospitals stayed 8.6 days on average.

Among public hospitals of second level and above, 65.7 percent offered appointment-based consultation (预约诊疗) at the end of 2024.

Staffing

The bulletin gives 3.61 practising (assistant) physicians and 4.16 registered nurses per thousand population, and 4.54 general practitioners per ten thousand population.

Who pays

Government health spending accounted for 24.9 percent of total health expenditure in 2024. Social health spending accounted for 47.6 percent, and personal health spending accounted for 27.5 percent.

Basic medical insurance

At the end of 2025, 133069.39万 people were enrolled in basic medical insurance, and the enrolment rate held at 95 percent. Here 万 means ten thousand.

Employee medical insurance (职工医保) had 38856.12万 people enrolled at the end of 2025.

Urban and rural resident basic medical insurance (城乡居民基本医疗保险) had 94213.27万 people enrolled at the end of 2025.

For hospitalisation costs within the insurance catalogue (目录内), the insurance fund paid 84.1 percent under employee medical insurance in 2025, and the payment ratios were 83.1 percent at tertiary, 87.0 percent at secondary and 89.7 percent at first-level-and-below institutions.

For hospitalisation costs within the insurance catalogue, the insurance fund paid 66.0 percent under resident medical insurance in 2025, and the payment ratios were 61.7 percent at tertiary, 71.8 percent at secondary and 79.4 percent at first-level-and-below institutions.

What international patients are told about charges

The Beijing government's English portal says that the charge standard for international patients is the same as that of Chinese residents. It adds that patients can pay out of pocket or buy commercial medical insurance.

The portal also says that international patients with high-end commercial health insurance may access direct billing services. If their insurer has a direct billing arrangement with the medical institution, the portal says patients can present their insurance card and passport for identity verification.

Questions people ask

How are hospitals in China split by ownership?

The commission's bulletin counts 11754 public hospitals and 26956 privately run hospitals (民营医院).

Is public insurance the only way to pay for care?

The Beijing portal describes paying out of pocket and buying commercial medical insurance as choices for international patients.

Sources

Each source above was read on the date shown. This page is an unofficial summary of general administrative information. It is not published by the bodies named above, and it is not medical advice. If it differs from the official pages, the official pages prevail, and figures and rules may change after the check date.