is the administrative leader who manages the day-to-day
activities of the government. In the UK, the monarch is the chief
of state and the prime minister is the head of government. In the US,
the President is both the chief of state and the head of government.

_#_Life expectancy at birth: The average number of years to be lived
by a group of people all born in the same year, if mortality at each
age remains constant in the future.

_#_Literacy: There are no universal definitions and standards of
literacy. Unless otherwise noted, all rates are based on the most
common definition--the ability to read and write at a specified age.
Detailing the standards that individual countries use to assess the
ability to read and write is beyond the scope of this publication.

_#_Maps: All maps will be available only in the printed version for
the foreseeable future.

_#_Maritime claims: The proximity of neighboring states may prevent
some national claims from being fully extended.

_#_Merchant marine: 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. Also, a
grouping of merchant ships by nationality or register.

Captive register--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--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 register 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 ships registered actually owned in the flag
state. Thus, while virtually any flag can be used for