ENG-2012 — Page 179

Chapter 8

Health

Hong Kong's public and private medical sectors provide extensive healthcare services, including a low-cost public healthcare 'safety net' that ensures no one in Hong Kong is denied medical care due to lack of means.

2012 Figures at a Glance

Infant Mortality Rate

Maternal Mortality Ratio

Life Expectancy 2012

2041

(*provisional figures)

1.5* per 1,000 registered live births

2.2* per 100,000 registered live births

80.6* (Male)

84.4 (Male)

86.3* (Female)

90.8 (Female) projected

Hong Kong has a high quality healthcare system supported by a highly professional team of healthcare workers. The infant mortality rate has fallen steadily over the past 20 years, from 5.9 per cent in 1990 to 1.7 per cent in 2010, one of the lowest in the world. Hong Kong's male and female life expectancy, at 80.6 years and 86.3 years respectively, were among the highest in the world in 2012.

Hong Kong's Domestic Health Accounts (DHA)1 show that Hong Kong's total health expenditure increased from 3.6 per cent to 5.2 per cent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) over the period 1989-90 to 2009-10. Over the same period, public health spending ($43.8 billion in 2009-10, or 2.6 per cent of GDP) rose from 39 per cent to 49 per cent of total health expenditure. The Government's recurrent funding for health has witnessed substantial year-by-year increases over the past five years. By 2012, the total funding had increased by over $13 billion to $44.7 billion, representing an increase of over 40 per cent from $31.6 billion in 2007. Healthcare expenditure accounted for 17 per cent of the Government's recurrent expenditure in 2012. The Food and Health Bureau (FHB) has also strengthened the public healthcare services safety net

1

A series of accounts compiled over the years in accordance with the International Classification for Health Accounts (ICHA) Framework developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development to keep track of Hong Kong's health spending and to allow for international comparison.

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