A: Tibet was formerly overrun with malign epidemics. According to historical records, during the 150 years before the peaceful liberation of Tibet there were four massive smallpox outbreaks in the region, one which occurred in 1925 killing 7,000 people. Two typhoid outbreaks in 1934 and 1937 ended in a death toll of 5,000 in Lhasa alone.
Since the peaceful liberation of Tibet the central government and local governments at various levels in Tibet have made painstaking efforts to develop its medical and public health sector, in a bid to improve the general health of the people. There has been no smallpox since the 1960s in Tibet, and other fatal diseases have either been eradicated or kept under control. Planned immunization is carried out throughout the region. 85 percent of children receive immunization, and 51.25 percent of children under the age of 7 are eligible for systematic health care services. Farmers an herdsmen of Tibet enjoy free medical services, while urban residents share medical costs with the state.
In old Tibet there were only two official hospitals, both small and poorly equipped. A medical and health network now covers all urban and rural areas. In 1998 there were 1,324 medical institutes in the region, with 6,246 hospital beds, averaging 2.5 beds per 1,000 people. There were also 1.84 doctors and 3.57 medical workers per 1,000 people in Tibet, higher than the national average. The average expected life span has risen form 36 to 65 years in Tibet.