Key points
- Eight provinces exceed 80-year average
- Child height increase signals better health
- Chronic diseases still pose key challenges
ISLAMABAD: China’s average life expectancy rose to 79 years in 2024, marking a significant milestone in the country’s long-term health improvement efforts. The figure represents an increase of 0.4 years from 2023 and meets a national target set for 2025 ahead of schedule.
China’s top health official on Thursday said the country’s average life expectancy has risen to 79 years.
The figure, measured by the end of 2024, was 1.1 years higher than that in 2020, said Lei Haichao, head of the National Health Commission, adding that it marked “a notable… pic.twitter.com/alPORUSDbc
— China News 中国新闻网 (@Echinanews) September 11, 2025
Lei Haichao, head of the National Health Commission (NHC), shared the latest data while speaking to the press on the sidelines of the country’s annual legislative session.
“This means China has achieved, ahead of schedule, its goal of raising its average life expectancy,” Lei said, referencing the national health plan under the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021–2025), which had aimed to raise the 2020 life expectancy figure by approximately one year by 2025.
Global standing and regional gains
According to Lei, China’s life expectancy now ranks fourth among 53 upper-middle-income countries and 10th among G20 nations. It has also surpassed the levels of 21 high-income countries.
China has built the world’s largest disease prevention and control system and raised Chinese people’s average life expectancy to 79 years as of 2024, China’s National Health Commission (NHC) said at a press conference on the medical and healthcare achievements made during the… pic.twitter.com/STONZSKK5E
— Global Times (@globaltimesnews) September 11, 2025
The steady improvement in life expectancy, he noted, was largely driven by the Healthy China initiative, widespread adoption of healthy lifestyles, and the influence of traditional Chinese culture.
He highlighted that the average life expectancy in eight economically advanced municipalities and provinces—Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong, and Hainan—has already exceeded 80 years.
Furthermore, “disparities in health levels among provincial regions are gradually decreasing,” Lei added, signalling improving health equity across the country.
Long-term progress in longevity
China’s rise in life expectancy is part of a broader, decades-long trend. Data from the United Nations and the World Health Organization (WHO) show that life expectancy at birth in China was around 65.5 years in 1980. It climbed to approximately 69.7 years by the mid-1990s, reached about 71.6 years in 2000, and further rose to 74.9 years by 2010.
🇨🇳 China’s average #lifeexpectancy has risen to 79 years in 2024, an increase of 1.1 years since 2020. 8 provincial-level regions have now surpassed the 80-year mark, led by Beijing, Shanghai, and five other provinces. This reflects notable progress for a developing economy,… pic.twitter.com/p8mBfzfG61
— Yu Dunhai (@YDunhai) September 11, 2025
In 2021, the WHO reported China’s average life expectancy at 77.6 years, reflecting sustained progress in public health, nutrition, and living standards.
The current figure of 79 years in 2024, according to Lei, continues this “long-term trend of remarkable improvement in longevity.”
Children’s health indicators also on rise
In a related development, the National Health Commission reported last Thursday that over the past five years, the average height of Chinese children aged 6 to 17 has increased—by 2.1 centimetres for boys and 2.2 centimetres for girls—further highlighting positive trends in child development and national health.
Challenges remain
Despite the progress, Lei acknowledged that “China still faces challenges from both infectious and chronic non-communicable diseases,” though he noted that “significant potential to increase life expectancy” remains.
