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World population problems have long remained the concern of demographers & historians. Only recently have politicians &/or international organizations dealt with the questions relevant to population; & even then, they tended to consider them as personal & individual, or national & internal, as opposed to taking a global perspective of the issues. Individual & national population decisions impinge on broader interests. This is illustrated by the 'tragedy of the commons', explained in game theoretical terms. In view of 1974 being World Population Year, it is urged that the world population problem be presented as a dilemma of worldwide scale, with a solution only forthcoming from action on a universal level. 2 Tables. Modified HA.

World population problems have remained the con cern of demographers and historians. Even today, when politicians or international organizations deal with such questions, they consider them either an individual and personal, or a specifically internal and national problem, rather than viewing the population issue from a global perspective. The author argues that individual and national population decisions impinge on broader interests- illustrated by the 'tragedy of the commons', here explained in game theoretical terms. He urges that for the World Population Year 1974, the world population problem be presented as a dilemma of worldwide scale, soluble only by worldwide action.

This was the second time demographers from all over the world had been brought together under the joint auspices of the United Nations and the International Union for the Scientific Study of Population. The first was in Rome, in 1954. The progress made over this decade is indeed tremendous. To begin with, the difference is one of sheer dimension: at the Belgrade conference more than oo papers were presented, including a large number of extremely valuable background papers, and the number of participants was around 800.