Information on higher education in Asia and the Pacific, reports on 13 countries of the region, five essays, and a bibliography are presented. After a brief review of trends and developments in higher education in the Asia and Pacific region, reports are provided for the following countries: Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, the Philippines, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the Socialist Republic of Viet Nam, and Thailand. The five essays by scholars from Asia and the Pacific give perspectives on higher education into the twenty-first century. These critical analyses consider the external influences on universities of the region and propose arguments for developing science and technology as well as for greater emphasis on international cooperation for development and on the cultural heritage of Asian and Pacific countries. The bibliography is a selection of titles from the library of the Unesco Regional Office for Education in Asia and the Pacific. The titles are publications of the last 5 years published largely in the region and by Unesco. In addition to a section on international/general references, the bibliography consists of sections on Asia and the Pacific and on specific countries. (SW)