Aug. 30, 2024 -- Chinese people's average life expectancy reached 78.6 years last year, compared to 77.93 years in 2022, according to data released by National Health Commission on Thursday.

The average life span of Chinese people has been rising continuously over past decades, climbing from 67 years in 1980, to 72.95 years in 2005 and 76.34 years in 2015.

Data also shows that the nation's maternal mortality rate decreased to 15.1 per 100,000 live births and its infant mortality rate dropped to 4.5 per 1,000 live births in 2023.

"Data shows that the health level of Chinese people has been improving continuously and progress has been made in achieving high quality development in the healthcare industry," said the commission.

Nationwide, the number of healthcare institutions grew by nearly 38,000 year-on-year to 1.07 million by the end of last year, and the number of hospital beds per 1,000 population reached 7.23.

The number of physicians per 1,000 population also rose to 3.4 and the number of nurses per 1,000 people increased to 4.