The health literacy level of residents in Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province was 43.96 percent in 2022, 4.06 percentage points higher than that of the previous year, according to a survey conducted by the Huzhou Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

This means that about 44 out of every 100 people in the city are health literate. The survey polled 3,205 people aged between 15 and 69 from 40 residential communities and villages.

Health literacy refers to the ability of individuals to access and understand basic health information and services and use them to make correct decisions to maintain and improve their health. It is also widely considered an important measure of a place's economic and social development level.

It is evaluated based primarily on factors of basic knowledge and concepts, healthy lifestyles and behaviors as well as fundamental skills.

The proportion of the surveyed with basic knowledge and concepts related to health was 55.54 percent, while that for those with healthy lifestyles and behaviors as well as fundamental skills were 44.4 percent and 39.75 percent respectively.

Among the surveyed, a significant increase was seen in the literacy level of chronic disease prevention and control, which climbed from 38.79 percent in 2021 to 47.36 percent in 2022.