To investigate epidemiological trends and characteristics of gonorrhea in China in recent years, and to provide evidence for developing prevention and control strategies.

A descriptive epidemiological study was conducted to analyze personal, spatial and temporal distribution of gonorrhea cases reported in China from 2015 to 2019.

The reported incidence rate of gonorrhea in China increased from 7.36 per 100 000 in 2015 to 10.06 per 100 000 in 2017, and decreased to 8.45 per 100 000 in 2019, with an average annual increase rate of 3.51%. From 2015 to 2019, the reported annual incidence rate in males was about 5 times that in females. During the 5 years, the reported incidence rate rapidly increased year by year in the groups aged 15 - 19 years and 20 - 24 years, with average annual increase rates of 33.67% and 22.77% respectively, but decreased or kept stable in the remaining age groups. High reported incidence rates were observed in the groups aged 25 - 29 years and 30 - 34 years from 2015 to 2018, but in the groups aged 20 - 24 years and 15 - 19 years in 2019. Gonorrhea cases were reported in all occupation groups, the largest proportion of cases was found in farmers and migrant workers (29.81% - 33.36%), and the highest average annual increase rate of 31.09% was observed in students. The reported incidence rate was high (> 12 per 100 000) in Shanghai, Zhejiang, Fujian, Guangdong, Hainan, etc., but low (< 3 per 100 000) in Hebei, Tianjin, Tibet, etc.

In general, the reported incidence rate of gonorrhea in China had been slightly increasing in the past 5 years, and was markedly higher in males than in females. The population with high incidence of gonorrhea tended to be younger, farmers and migrant workers were the most important affected populations, and the southeast coastal areas in China showed a relatively high reported incidence rate.

Gonorrhea; Incidence; China; Epidemiologic feature