This publication contributes to the knowledge of the health and wellbeing of the peoples of the Americas. The selection of Basic Indicators of the Health Situation in the Americas, as presented in this brochure, gives the latest information for 1995 with respect to various important public health events in the Region. The indicators have been classified into two sections. The first contains 54 indicators and presents data by countries and territories; the second contains 33 indicators that describe their trends by subregions. In both sections, the indicators are grouped according to broad thematic areas. An important criteria for the selection of the indicators was the availability of information from the majority of the countries of the Region of the Americas