The paper examines the issues involved in defining and measuring “basic needs.” In setting the criteria for measuring basic minimum needs, the different groups of needs are discussed. It divides objective needs into three categories: levels of living, factors of production, and services. Determination of subjective needs would take in the form of a survey or interviews asking people to rate and choose among items. Units of analysis are individuals to be aggregated as averages or other descriptors of a given distribution. The paper also suggests that stratified sampling of communities per region would minimize costs and ensure that communities are adequately covered.