La surmortalite des filles en Belgique vers 1890. Une approche regionale

During the nineteenth century, mortality of women between the ages of 2 and 30 years exceeded that of men, as it did in other European countries. This paper is designed to show the variations that occurred in mortality rates of 41 Belgian communes around 1890, taking account of their size and dominant type of production (mining, textiles, farming, and urban tertiary occupations). Excess mortality of females between the ages of one and five years was recorded only in rural areas, whereas the excess was general between the ages of 5 and 20 years. However, the difference between the mortality of the sexes was smaller in an industrial and urban environment, where the mortality of males was particularly high. In the Walloon part of the country, housing and women's economic activity are closely linked with the excess mortality of girls. The link with mother's education is less important. By contrast, none of these differences can be observed in Flanders. It is clear that the mortality rates of girls are higher than those of boys, irrespective of their environment, though variations exist which depend on the cultural background, the system of production, and the resulting social relations between the sexes