The perinatal death rate in the Netherlands fell by 28% between 2001 and 2012, according to figures from the Dutch midwives’ association published on Thursday.

In total, 1,491 of the 175,000 babies born in 2012 died around the time of their birth, the association said. In two-thirds of cases, the babies were extremely premature and born between 22 and 27 weeks.

The percentage of full term babies which die within four weeks of birth has halved since 2001, from 3.9 per 1,000 live births to two, the KNOV said.

The Netherlands is considered to have a high perinatal death rate in European terms.