The health literacy rate of Chinese people reached nearly 28 percent in 2022, up about 2.4 percentage points from the previous year, the National Health Commission said.

The figure indicates around 28 out of 100 people in China have obtained basic health knowledge.

The rate stood at only 8.8 percent in 2012 and has been rising continuously over the years, the commission said in a statement on its website on Saturday.

It added residents in urban areas and people living in southern provinces tend to have higher health literacy.

According to Healthy China 2030, a national guideline aimed at promoting overall health, the health literacy rate is expected to reach 30 percent by 2030.