The report, which covered the period from 2003 to 2007, said the infant mortality rate fell from 25.5 per 1,000 babies in 2003 to 15.3 per 1,000 last year. The maternal mortality rate fell from 51.3 per 100,000 in 2003 to 36.6 in 2007.

    "The health condition of both rural and urban residents further improved," it said. The infant and maternal mortality rate in China has witnessed a dramatic and steady decline in the last several years thanks to improved health care, especially in rural areas.

    Since 2003, the percentage of prenatal examinations had maintained around 90 percent, with post partum check rate at 86 percent and hospitalized deliveries 88 percent, up nine percent over four years ago, the report said.

    It said 85 percent of the country's rural pregnant women delivered babies in hospitals in 2006, meeting ahead of schedule the 65-percent goal set for 2010.

    The report indicated that both overall and per capita health expenditures had increased since 2003. Total health expenditures in 2007 were estimated at 1,048.8 billion yuan (143.67 billion U.S. dollars), accounting for 4.82 percent of gross domestic product.

    Statistics show the central budget allocated 63.1 billion yuan (8.64 billion U.S. dollars) to healthcare last year, an increase of 277 percent from 2006.

    Per capita health spending last year reached 781 yuan.

    However, the report noted, one reason health spending might have risen was that medical charges had increased along with other prices paid by consumers. Per capita medical fees for outpatients increased 2.2 percent, or 2.8 yuan, to 128.7 yuan. Per capita hospitalization fees rose 7.9 percent, or 355.9 yuan, to 4,874.8 yuan.

    "Excluding the price hikes, per capita outpatient spending dropped 2.3 percent, or 2.9 yuan, and hospitalization charges were up 3.1 percent, or 141.5 yuan," the report said.

    The proportion of medical spending allocated to drugs had declined in the period under review. Outpatient prescriptions were down from 55.6 percent of medical spending in 2003 to 50.8 percent last year, and those for hospitalized patients slid from 44.3 to 42.3 percent, it said.

    Hospital visits - excluding rural and urban community clinics -exceeded 2.57 billion, up 23 percent, including 86.23 million hospitalized patients, up 42 percent, it said.

    Over the past five years, the nation's hospital beds were used more frequently and the average time spent in hospital decreased, increasing the workload for doctors according to the report.

    "Last year, each doctor treated 5.8 outpatients and 1.7 inpatients on average each day, up 0.8 and 0.3 respectively from 2003," it said.

    As of September 2007, about 730 million farmers, or 86 percent, in 2,448 counties had joined the rural cooperative medical system, up 10.8 percentage points from 2004. That program was initiated in 2003 to offer farmers basic health care.

    The plan, intended to help farmers with virtually no medical insurance, requires a participant to pay 10 yuan a year. State, provincial, municipal and county governments contribute another 40 yuan per person to the fund.

    The fund paid out about 22 billion yuan during the survey period for reimbursements, with beneficiaries recording 263.3 million medical visits during the first three quarters of last year, the report said.

    Health Minister Chen Zhu told a national health conference on Monday that the cooperative health care network would cover all rural residents by the end of 2008.

    The urban health care system, mainly covering city dwellers who receive subsistence allowances, was rolled out in a pilot program in 79 cities and was estimated to have covered 30 million urbanites in 2007, it said.

    By the end of 2006, about 160 million urban residents had joined the system, which spent 127.7 billion yuan in 2006, it said.

    By the end of last year, there were 315,000 medical institutions in China, up 24,000 from 2003, the report said, adding the number of doctors for 1,000 people rose from 1.48 in 2003 to 1.56 last year, with registered nurses up from 1 to 1.12.

    It said prevention against major infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, hepatitis B and snail fever were strengthened over the past five years.

    "About 1.8 billion yuan (250 million U.S. dollars) were allocated to the prevention and treatment of AIDS between 2006 and 2007. Free anti-viral treatment covered 1,190 counties in all 31 provincial areas, with 39,000 AIDS patients receiving the treatment by the end of last November."