Index highlights China's health development in 2024

The 2024 Health Development Index Report was published on Friday in Hainan province, revealing the country's health development across different regions.

The index was jointly issued by 10 research institutions nationwide, including the Hainan Institute of Health Development and Peking University's China Center for Health Development Studies.

"This provides a data-driven foundation for health development policies," said Professor Meng Qingyue, who is also director of the Hainan Institute of Health Development.

Scores for all the provinces and regions ranged from 67.5 to 100, showing gaps in health development. Leading the rankings were Shanghai, Beijing, Zhejiang and Jiangsu.

In addition to the overall index, the report also assessed seven key areas: socioeconomic factors, health environments, health behaviors, governance, healthcare resources, service systems and health outcomes.

The findings indicated the direct link between a region's level of economic development and health index, with regions of the highest economic levels scoring about 10 points higher than economically advanced regions, 15 points higher than middle- and lower-tier regions and 20 points higher than the lowest-tier regions.

Meng emphasized that bridging regional gaps is essential to improving equity, calling for tailored policies that integrate health priorities across all sectors.

Liu Boqian contributed to this story.