Data on the civil registration of all births and deaths recorded in 1987 in Belgium were analysed following WHO rules. The following statistics with significant regional variations were recorded: 2.5% of teenage pregnancies, 7% of late pregnancies (≥35 years), 6.1% of low birth weights and 5.3% of preterm deliveries. Preterm birth rates did not improve during the last decade and are higher than in neighbouring countries. Infant mortality rate is 9.74 per 1000. This rate has remained unchanged since the early 1980s but the relative importance of post-neonatal mortality is increasing. Congenital anomalies account for 26% of all infant deaths followed by the sudden infant death syndrome (17%). Maternal conditions such as eclampsia are related to 29% of the infants' deaths.