Abstract: Ordinary medical colleges and universities, which played a crucial role in producing qualified health professionals in China, increased from 189 in 1998 to 590 in 2012. There were 53 and 414 medical colleges and universities that were respectively held by the central government and local governments in 2012 and the number of private ones totaled 123. The first three kinds of institutions that offer health professions education were comprehensive universities, free-standing medical universities and colleges, and science and engineering universities. Higher occupational schools totaled 185 in 2012, out-numbering other types of medical colleges and universities. In the same year, the number of medical colleges and universities in eastern, central, and western China was 261, 195, and 134, respectively. Only 73 or 12.4% of the 590 medical colleges and universities offered doctorate degrees. Undergraduate and junior medical colleges totaled 304 and 391 in 2012, respectively.

Key words: Education of health professionals, Ordinary college and university, Scale of education, Structure of education