Shanghai, March 05: The average life span of people in Shanghai has surpassed 82 years, the longest in the country, officials said.
China Daily reported that by the end of 2010, the average life span of the city’s residents was 82.13 years, eclipsing the figure of 81.73 set in 2009, says the annual report released by the municipal health bureau.
The average life span of Shanghai’s registered male residents was 79.82 years, up from the previous year’s 79.42, while the female life span was 84.44 years, up from 84.06.
The average life span of a Shanghai resident in 1951 was 44 years.
The maternal mortality rate last year was 9.61 in every 100,000, while the infant death rate was 5.97 in every 1,000.
Life span, and maternal and infant mortality rates are the data that reflect the health of residents and the quality of medical care of a nation or a region.
“Currently, all the three data in Shanghai are at the same level with those in developed countries,” said Xu Jianguang, director of the Shanghai Municipal Health Bureau.
The city is also exploring ways of expanding and improving its family doctor system.
At present, Shanghai has more than 10,000 family doctors for a population close to 23 million.
———IANS