Merchant marine: Merchant marine may be defined as all ships engaged in the carriage of goods; all commercial vessels (as opposed to all nonmilitary ships) which excludes tugs, fishing vessels, offshore oil rigs, etc.; or a grouping of merchant ships by nationality or register. This entry contains information in two subfields—total and ships by type. Total includes the total number of ships (1,000 GRT or over), total DWT for all ships, and total GRT for all ships. Ships by type includes a listing of barge carriers, bulk cargo ships, cargo ships, combination bulk carriers, combination ore/oil carriers, container ships, intermodal ships, liquefied gas tankers, livestock carriers, multifunction large-load carriers, oil tankers, passenger ships, passenger-cargo ships, railcar carriers, refrigerated cargo ships, roll-on/roll-off cargo ships, short-sea passenger ships, specialized tankers, tanker tug-barges, and vehicle carriers.
Captive register is a register of ships maintained by a territory, possession, or colony primarily or exclusively for the use of ships owned in the parent country; also referred to as an offshore register, the offshore equivalent of an internal register. Ships on a captive register will fly the same flag as the parent country, or a local variant of it, but will be subject to the maritime laws and taxation rules of the offshore territory. Although the nature of a captive register makes it especially desirable for ships owned in the parent country, just as in the internal register, the ships may also be owned abroad. The captive register then acts as a flag of convenience register, except that it is not the register of an independent state.
Flag of convenience register is a national register offering registration to a merchant ship not owned in the flag state. The major flags of convenience (FOC) attract ships to their registers by virtue of low fees, low or nonexistent taxation of profits, and liberal manning requirements. True FOC registers are characterized by having relatively few of the registered ships actually owned in the flag state. Thus, while virtually any flag can be used for ships under a given set of circumstances, an FOC register is one where the majority of the merchant fleet is owned abroad. It is also referred to as an open register.
Flag state is the nation in which a ship is registered and which holds legal jurisdiction over operation of the ship, whether at home or abroad. Maritime legislation of the flag state determines how a ship is crewed and taxed and whether a foreign-owned ship may be placed on the register.
Internal register is a register of ships maintained as a subset of a national register. Ships on the internal register fly the national flag and have that nationality but are subject to a separate set of maritime rules from those on the main national register. These differences usually include lower taxation of profits, use of foreign nationals as crew members, and, usually, ownership outside the flag state (when it functions as an FOC register). The Norwegian International Ship Register and Danish International Ship Register are the most notable examples of an internal register. Both have been instrumental in stemming flight from the national flag to flags of convenience and in attracting foreign-owned ships to the Norwegian and Danish flags.
Merchant ship is a vessel that carries goods against payment of freight; commonly used to denote any nonmilitary ship but accurately restricted to commercial vessels only.
Register is the record of a ship's ownership and nationality as listed with the maritime authorities of a country; also, the compendium of such individual ships' registrations. Registration of a ship provides it with a nationality and makes it subject to the laws of the country in which registered (the flag state) regardless of the nationality of the ship's ultimate owner.
Military: This category includes the entries dealing with a country's military structure, manpower, and expenditures.
Military branches: This entry lists the names of the ground, naval, air, marine, and other defense or military-type forces.
Military expenditures—dollar figure: This entry gives current military expenditures in US dollars; the figure is calculated by multiplying the estimated defense spending in percentage terms by the gross domestic product (GDP) in purchasing power parity (PPP) terms. The figure should be treated with caution because of different price patterns and accounting methods among nations.
Military expenditures—percent of GDP: This entry gives current military expenditures as an estimated percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
Military manpower—availability: This entry gives the total numbers of males and females age 15–49 and assumes that every individual is fit to serve.
Military manpower—fit for military service: This entry gives the number of males and females age 15–49 fit for military service. This is a more refined measure of potential military manpower availability which tries to correct for the health situation in the country and reduces the maximum potential number to a more realistic estimate of the actual number fit to serve.
Military manpower—military age: This entry gives the minimum age at which an individual may volunteer for military service or be subject to conscription.
Military manpower—reaching military age annually: This entry gives the number of draft-age males and females entering the military manpower pool in any given year and is a measure of the availability of draft-age young adults.
Military—note: This entry includes miscellaneous military information of significance not included elsewhere.
Money figures: All money figures are expressed in contemporaneous US dollars unless otherwise indicated.
National capital: This entry gives the location of the seat of government.
National holiday: This entry gives the primary national day of celebration—usually independence day.
Nationality: This entry provides the identifying terms for citizens—noun and adjective.
Natural hazards: This entry lists potential natural disasters.
Natural resources: This entry lists a country's mineral, petroleum, hydropower, and other resources of commercial importance.
Net migration rate: This entry includes the figure for the difference between the number of persons entering and leaving a country during the year per 1,000 persons (based on midyear population). An excess of persons entering the country is referred to as net immigration (e.g., 3.56 migrants/1,000 population); an excess of persons leaving the country as net emigration (e.g., −9.26 migrants/1,000 population). The net migration rate indicates the contribution of migration to the overall level of population change. High levels of migration can cause problems such as increasing unemployment and potential ethnic strife (if people are coming in) or reducing the labor force, perhaps in certain key sectors (if people are leaving).
People: This category includes the entries dealing with the characteristics of the people and their society.
People—note: This entry includes miscellaneous demographic information of significance not included elsewhere.
Pipelines: This entry gives the lengths and types of pipelines for transporting products like natural gas, crude oil, or petroleum products.
Political parties and leaders: This entry includes a listing of political organizations and their leaders.
Political pressure groups and leaders: This entry includes a listing of organizations with leaders involved in politics, but not standing for legislative election.
Population: This entry gives an estimate from the US Bureau of the Census based on statistics from population censuses, vital statistics registration systems, or sample surveys pertaining to the recent past, and on assumptions about future trends. Starting with the 1993 Factbook, demographic estimates for some countries (mostly African) have taken into account the effects of the growing incidence of AIDS infections; in 1997 these countries were Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Guyana, Haiti, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Nigeria, Rwanda, South