Death rate of children under five in surveillance areas in China 1991-2023

In 2023, the mortality rate of children under five years of age in 336 monitoring sites in China was 6.2 per 1,000 children. In the past three decades, premature deaths of young people in China were substantially reduced, with the mortality rate of children under five dropping by almost 90 percent. 

Enhanced access to pediatric healthcare services

Thanks to China's rapid transformation in the past few decades, the standard of medical services available to Chinese children has improved dramatically. Many children's hospitals throughout China's major cities, as well as a number of pediatric units in general hospitals, have reached highly sophisticated levels. Over the past decade, the number of pediatric ward beds and medical personnel in China has increased enormously, generally meeting the demand for children's care.

The control of life-threatening diseases

With a more robust healthcare system, many diseases that have long been threatening the lives of Chinese children have been brought under effective control, with the mortality rate from serious diseases such as neonatal tetanus dropping significantly in recent years. However, with disparities between the accessibility and quality of pediatric care in urban and rural areas, children in rural China usually have fewer treatment options when diagnosed with certain conditions. The mortality rates of serious illnesses such as childhood leukemia are often significantly higher in the countryside as a result.