April 24, 1974

 

National Security Study Memorandum 200
TO:	The Secretary of Defense The Secretary of Agriculture The Director of Central Intelligence The Deputy Secretary of State Administrator, Agency for International Development
SUBJECT:	Implications of Worldwide Population Growth for U.S. Security and Overseas Interests

 
The President has directed a study of the impact of world population growth
on U.S. security and overseas interests. The study should look forward
at least until the year 2000, and use several alternative reasonable pro-
jections of population growth.

In terms of each projection, the study should assess:

--	the corresponding pace of development, especially in poorer countries;
--	the demand for US exports, especially of food, and the trade pro- blems the US may face arising from competition for re- sources; and
--	the likelihood that population growth or imbalances will produce disruptive foreign policies and international instability.

The study should focus on the international political and economic implica-
tions of population growth rather than its ecological, sociological or other
aspects.

The study would then offer possible courses of action for the United States
in dealing with population matters abroad, particularly in developing
countries, with special attention to these questions:

--	What, if any, new initiatives by the United States are needed to focus international attention on the population problem?
--	Can technological innovations or development reduce growth or ameliorate its effects?