Speakers on population matters often refer to the population explosion with an air of crisis. It is questionable that images of doomsday are defensible for us in our role as educators. The goals of population education are to develop an understanding of the impacts of population characteristics on national development, as well as their impact on the individual. A second purpose is to develop informed individuals who will make responsible decisions. Population study introduced population characteristics, and the causes and consequences of population change, and it includes a wide range of social phenomena affected by population. There are more than 20 countries now developing programs. However, the next step is to develop a population unit or cell within a country's educational system, defining the objectives. The final decision is whether a series of new courses are needed, or whether population concepts should be infused throughout the existing curriculum. Population learning will probably be more effective if children are confronted with population material throughout their curriculum and throughout their entire school careers. Social studies offer particularly fruitful areas for population learning. In addition, population study should be part of teacher training. SO 000 291 is a directory of national programs. (SLD)