Regional and state demographic profiles highlight social, economic, and educational characteristics of the Appalachian states of Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Data from 1979-82 are summarized and presented in charts, tables, and graphs. Regional and state social and economic profiles include population, urban/rural population, racial/ethnic minority population, number of families and children per family, families below poverty level, household income data, and unemployment rates. Findings include a 43% rural population, 12% of families below poverty level, family income levels in three states below the national median, and state unemployment rates above the national rate. Educational profiles of the region and states include state-level organization; numbers of public and private elementary, secondary, and post-secondary schools; numbers of school personnel; school enrollment; vocational educational programs; high school graduates; minority student population; high school dropouts; adult illiteracy rates; and estimated public education expenditures and educational funding for 1981-82. Findings include dropout rates ranging from 26% in West Virginia to 34% in Tennessee with each state's dropout rate greatly exceeding the national average; less than 9 years of education for more than one-fourth of the adult population of three states; declining school enrollments since 1970, but a five-fold increase in public preprimary enrollments. A bibliography of 169 items is appended. (LFL)