Description of a method of assessing the degree of self-help present in developing countries. Gross domestic savings are selected as important measures of self-help. Several regression models are formulated. They hypothesize that gross savings depend on gross national product, per-capita gross national product, urbanization, and international trade. Data for 30 to 54 less-developed countries are used in the models. It is concluded that savings estimates are useful indicators of what countries should be capable of doing for themselves.