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made usually on the basis of: (a) a feeling of trust towards an NGO headed by a member of the same extended family; (b) trust in an organization managed by a professionally reputable personality; (c) affinity with the region served by the NGO for religious or nationalistic considerations; and (d) identification with the objectives of the NGO, be they religious, social or humanitarian. Evidently, and as mentioned previously, the small size of Kuwait's indigenous r,pulation and its cohesiveness was and continues to be a positive factor in the swift identification with and the willingness to entrust zakat and charity to non-goveinmental organizations.

10. Private aid flows to developing countries are mostly a two-step process: from the donor to the organization and from the organization to the final recipients. It is, therefore, useful to briecly assess the NGO motives behind the transfer of resources to the ultimate beieficiaries. Although, in most cases, the motives of the donor and the NGOs are compatible, one could argue that from time to time, the organization's motives could be different. One could also argue that since the activities of the NGOs, as entities, are widely publicized within KuwaiL, I'ese NGOs can serve a means for greater community or intemational recognition, especially for individuals associated with NGO activities and success.

11. However, since one of the special features of the NGOs in Kuwait is that, in most cases, NGOs provide the public with a choice of projects and countries, this gives the private donor some control over sectoral and geographical distribution of contributions. This is especially true for contributions which can only be dispensed according to the specific instructions of the giver. Thus, it is possible, that in some years, and in the absence of projects that would not satisfy the wishes of the donor(s), funds collected may not be dispensed. These funds, with the exception of zakat, are usually invested and reinvested for future use and can be drawn from over many years, when projects are identified to meet donor(s) specifications. Zakat funds, on the other hand, cannot be invested and are therefore completely disbursed during the year received.

12. To complete the picture, reference should also be made to the non- Kuwaiti inhabitants of Kuwait, of around 100 different nationalities, who number one million (1987 figures) and who constitute 70% of Kuwait's total population. Of these, more than 50% are Arab nationals. Although their contribution to private aid flows are even more difficult to estimate, it is likely that while the amount of contributions is relatively small when compared to Kuwaiti contributions, the number of individual non-Kuwaiti givers is rather substantial.

13. A related issue, to the non-Kuwaitis and the question of aid, is the proportion of private funds spent on local activities in support of lower income groups in Kuwait. This has to be viewed within the context of Kuwait's developing country status, despite its relatively high per capita income of about $14,610. (In 1987 dollars. Source: 1989, WDR Table 1, page 164.) The classification of Kuwait as a developing country, among other factors, is attributed to the country's shortage of human resources which, following the discovery of oil, necessitated the importation of a large number of expatriates to implement Kuwait's ambitious development plans. For example, in 1985, expatriates constituted about 81% of the labor force, up from 77% in 1965. Although there has been a shift in the ethnic composition of non-Kuwaitis in the labor force from Arabs to Asians, the non-Kuwaiti Arabs, with higher dependency ratios, still constitute the highest percentac,e of the population.

14. In addition to expatriates, and again linked io the discovery of oil, Kuwait has attracted a I irge number of stateless people, known colloquially as "bedoun" or "without" meaning without a nationality. Although there are no reliable statistics on this group of people, which one could identify as "intemal refugees," they are estimated to number about 200,000 or about 10% of Kuwait's population. They are also considered among the lower income groups in Kuwait. Since expatriates, whether Arab or foreign, and the "intemal refug-es" in Kuwait do not have equal access