This study compares the data obtained from two retrospective surveys: the Senegal Fertility Survey (SFS) and the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) with the data obtained from a longitudinal follow-up study held among the Sereer, living in a rural area of Senegal (Niakhar). The study shows that the fertility level is slightly higher in the retrospective surveys than in the longitudinal follow-up, the difference being mainly due to an overestimation of the fertility rate of the age group 15–19 years. The mortality levels and trends among under five children are correctly estimated by the DHS, but are underestimated by the SFS. The age pattern of mortality is slightly biased in the DHS and SFS, owing to errors on age at the time of death in these retrospective surveys. The comparison of the nutritional status was difficult to make because of the small sample size used in the DHS.