Developing social indicators of basic human needs involves (1) recognizing the problems in selection, (2) identifying the criteria for making selections, (3) choosing which basic needs to cover, and (4) selecting the indicators. The social indicators are to help formulate U.S. foreign policy and will be used by the State Department's Bureau of Human Rights in its annual country reports to Congress. Problems in selecting indicators of adequate living standards include data accuracy, data comparability across diverse cultures, appropriateness of the measures to U.S. policy, and proper interpretation of the indicators when making policy. In light of these problems, ten criteria were developed for the selection and presentation of the indicators. Education, health, nutrition, and income emerged as the basic needs to cover. Within these limits, the Bureau selected 12 social indicators, including infant mortality rate, population growth rate, primary school enrollment rate, household income shares, and calory supply per capita. Because of the change from the Carter to the Reagan administration, the indicators may not be used, but the process of choosing the indicators has helped clarify the issues and problems surrounding social indicators. (RW)