 03-Jun-19, Global Demographics

The combination of an ageing population (which has a higher incidence of health conditions), improved diagnostics as a result of a steadily improving and increasingly accessible health service, combined with significant lifestyle changes (such as diet and exercise), means that the number of conditions needing treatment in China over the next decade increases quite dramatically.

Image: Global Demographics

Assuming that the average per capita expenditure on health increases from USD400 pa to USD733 pa as a result of more conditions per person needing treatment, rather than an increased spend per condition, this would mean healthcare expenditure would in total increase from 5.3%% of total GDP in 2018 to 5.9% by 2028. Of the developing economies in Asia Vietnam is the only other that spends over 5% of its GDP on health.

The older Asian countries (eg. Japan) spend around 7% to 10%. It is probable that given its older population China’s expenditure on health will need to increase to those levels in the next decade. In which case the total spend on healthcare in China would reach US$1,672 bn - a growth rate of 9.3% per annum to 2028.

 Read the full article 

 Healthcare insights