Abstract
A retrospective study on the mortality pattern among adolescents and young adults (15-24 years of age) in The Netherlands, 1983-1992, is presented. Most young people (61.5% of the men, and 45.2% of the women) died of external causes. Traffic accidents and suicide ranked first and second in this category. A decline of mortality in young people could be achieved by unrelenting efforts to prevent traffic accidents. A higher autopsy rate would solve some uncertainties.