The vast majority of hip fractures in the 21st century will occur in the developing countries. The rates and life-time hip fracture risk are not known for Mexico, and for this reason, we studied the incidence of hip fractures, and the remaining life-time probability of having a hip fracture at the age of 50 years in Mexican men and women. All hip fracture cases registered during the year 2000 were collected at all the main tertiary-care hospitals in the two major health systems in México City, Instituto Mexicano del Seguro Social (IMSS) and Ministry of Health (SS), and the diagnosis was validated by chart review in all cases. The annual rates of hip fracture were 169 in women and 98 in men per 100,000 person-years. The life-time probability of having a hip fracture at 50 years of age was 8.5% in Mexican women and 3.8% in Mexican men. We conclude that hip fractures are an important health problem in Mexico and that Mexican health authorities should consider public health programs to prevent hip fractures.