Children and adults receive vaccinations at Jiangbei Regional Health Service Center in Huizhou, Guangdong Province, China, September 15, 2026.
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BEIJING – The International Monetary Fund said in a new book titled “Toward a New Economic Growth Model for China” that high medical costs are a major factor driving people in China to save money.
Rural China spends 8.7% of its disposable income on health care, ranking it only second after the United States among 20 major economies, the study found. The United States spends nearly 9.9% of its disposable income on health care, ranking highest in the world.
According to the data, urban China came in third with 5.4%, just ahead of Canada.
China’s level of health care burden becomes even more remarkable when considering the United States’ per capita disposable income. As of the end of last year, it was worth $68,289, more than 10 times the US dollar equivalent of China’s 43,377 yuan (approximately $6,400).
The gap is even wider in rural China, which only officially emerged from extreme poverty in 2020.
China’s urban areas recorded disposable income of 56,502 yuan and 24,456 yuan, more than double that of rural areas, according to official data accessible via Wind Information.
Citing prefecture-level analysis, the IMF said targeted measures to increase government spending on health and social security in rural areas could significantly reduce the savings rate of rural households.
“China’s social spending is low compared to international countries, and an increase in that spending would boost consumption,” said Yizhi Xu, an economist in the IMF’s North Asia Division, and Fan Zhang, the IMF’s deputy representative in Beijing.
Rural-born workers working in China’s cities have a savings rate of about 14%, while those with hukou residency in urban areas have a savings rate of about 6%, meaning they receive more social welfare benefits than migrant workers from rural areas.
“The decline in housing prices in recent years continues to weigh on consumption and contributes to an increase in household savings,” Xu and Zhang write in the IMF book.
