A procedure for the estimation of the infant mortality rate in Brazil, in the 1980's, based only on the age distribution of registered deaths, is here proposed. Using this technique, it is possible to estimate the probabilities of dying in the first year of life in a continuous way, year by year, for different regions of the country. The space-time distribution of the main causes of infant deaths is analysed and the relevance of using this coefficient to express the social and economic conditions of the Brazilian population from 1979 to 1989 is discussed.
Infant mortality; Cause of death; Estimation techniques