This book is designed primarily to help readers broaden their knowledge of global issues, gain insight into their country's situation in a global context, and understand the problems of sustainable development nationally and globally. Because development is a comprehensive process involving economic as well as social and environmental changes, the book takes an interdisciplinary approach. It seeks to describe and explain the complex relationships among aspects of development, including population growth, economic growth, improvements in education and health, urbanization, and globalization. The book is based on statistical data for most countries, presented in data tables at the end, as well as in figures, maps, and references in the text. Following the "Introduction", there are 17 chapters: (1) "What Is Development"; (2) "Comparing Levels of Development"; (3) "World Population Growth"; (4) "Economic Growth Rates"; (5) "Income Inequality"; (6) "Poverty"; (7) "Education"; (8) "Health and Longevity"; (9) "Growth of the Service Sector"; (10) "Urbanization and Urban Air Pollution"; (11) "Public and Private Enterprises: Finding the Right Mix"; (12) "Globalization and International Trade"; (13) "Foreign Aid and Foreign Development"; (14) "Economic Development and the Risk of Global Climate Change"; (15) "Composite Indicators of Development"; (16) "Indicators of Development Sustainability"; and (17) "Some Additional Issues: In Search of a Comprehensive Development Strategy." Attached are a glossary, classification of economies by income and region, and data tables. (BT)