From China Daily, via People’s Daily Online (link):
The Ministry of Health yesterday warned that there are not enough qualified nurses in China to cope with the rising demand for medical services.
“A shortage of nurses has become a big problem in China’s health service as the country has become an ageing society,” ministry spokesman Mao Qun’an said at a press conference.
At the end of 2005, there were approximately 1.35 million nurses on the Chinese mainland, which means one nurse to every 1,000 residents.
The World Health Organization standard is 1:500.