The Panel on Statistics for Rural Development Policy was established to assess the current quality and availability of data for rural development policy--a more difficult task than might first appear. Until recent decades, rural development was commonly understood to be the development of agriculture. As science and technology transformed U. S. agriculture and as rural communities have grown, however, farming has accounted for a declining portion of the employment and economic activity in rural areas. What rural development means or should mean today has become a difficult and often contentious question. Indeed, what is meant by rural cannot be clearly conceptualized or statistically defined. Many rural officials believe that inappropriate but well-intended federal (and state) decisions have eroded their communities' integrity and capacity for self-determination. The sense of independence and community that has been so strong in rural society is now threatened. Thirteen chapters cover "Rural America: Known and Unknown,""What is Rural Development,""Discovering What Concerns Rural America,""User Characteristics and Purposes,""Demographic Data,""Housing,""Health and Nutrition,""Education,""Public Services and Community Facilities,""Economic Development,""Natural Resources and Energy,""Strategies for Improving Rural Development Information," and "Summary and Recommendations." There are eight appendixes. (Author/BRR)