The basic needs and services that the vast masses of the population in developing countries must have to improve their quality of life are examined. Chapter 1 of nine chapters discusses implications of rapid population growth for social and economic planning. Rapid population growth in the developing countries is discussed in chapter 2. Food requirements, the problems of supply and distribution, and nutritional levels are examined in chapter 3 and action programs are analyzed. The fourth chapter on health points out three basic defects in health planning: a neglect of non-medical aspects of health; an excessive concentration on curative medicine; and within curative services, a socially and geographically selective bias. In regard to housing, the focus of chapter 5, there is a need for low-cost and self-help housing. The current dissatisfaction with education, dealt with in chapters 6 and 7, is not the inadequacy of the resources but with how they are used. Employment is dealt with in the last two chapters. Discussed is the need to redistribute employment opportunities, incomes, and assets in favor of the rural poor. (RM)