lag to flags of convenience and in
attracting foreign-owned ships to the Norwegian and Danish
flags.

A merchant ship is a vessel that carries goods against
payment of freight; it is commonly used to denote any
nonmilitary ship but accurately restricted to commercial
vessels only.

A register is the record of a ship's ownership and
nationality as listed with the maritime authorities of a
country; also, it is 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 security 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)
calculated on an exchange rate basis not purchasing power
parity (PPP) terms. The figure should be treated with
caution because of different price patterns and accounting
methods among nations, as well as wide variations in the
strength of their currencies.

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