Summary.The present study was designed to analyse the evolution of student populations — undergraduates and graduates — in the 11 Belgian medical schools from 1969 to 1982. During this period, an overall 44% drop in the number of entrants was observed, while the number of medical graduates continued to rise until 1977, when it stabilized. French‐ and Flemish‐speaking universities followed a similar trend. During the period under study, the proportion of women students virtually doubled from 25 to 44%. The total success rate averaged 39% for Belgian students and 24% for foreigners. By comparing success curves over the years, the various medical faculties were rated with a ‘selectivity’ score, indicating those significantly different from the national average. A separate classification was made for preclinical (3 years of ‘Candidature’) and clinical (4 years of ‘Doctoral’) phases since, among the 11 Belgian medical schools, four teach only preclinical subjects. Marked differences in failure rates were observed between candidature and doctoral education even