Community leaders and government agency representatives need to understand local population trends, particularly in situations of rapid change. This publication outlines a simple framework for analysis of population changes, along with useful methods and criteria that can be applied when considering management and policy alternatives. Two population communities must be considered: longterm residents and newcomers. Knowing more about who newcomers are and what types of families they may bring can suggest systematic ways of providing for their arrival, for example, in deciding how to allocate funds for family planning education, health care, school buildings, or job training programs. Analysis of community population trends requires information about the structural characteristics of a population and about population processes, or the way a population changes over time. Structural characteristics include population size, location, age, sex, cultural background, educational levels, and family type. Population processes include fertility, mortality, and migration. Agency representatives and local leaders can use population information to make informed estimates about the social and economic effects of development. Sources of information for population data are listed and described. (KS)