Statistical Terms Glossary

IWT vessel which is registered at a given date in a country other than the reporting country.

FIPS is an instrument in the Swiss capital market. Its features are similar to a reverse dual-currency bond that offers interest payments in a foreign currency but keeps the principal in Swiss francs.

The Foreign Investment Advisory Service helps member governments to review and adjust policies, regulations, and investment strategies that affect foreign investment. It is currently managed jointly by IFC and MIGA.

Are foreigners admitted by the receiving State for the specific purpose of exercising an economic activity remunerated from within the receiving country. Their length of stay is usually restricted as is the type of employment they can hold.

Are foreign military servicemen, officials and advisers stationed in the country. Their dependents and domestic employees are sometimes allowed to accompany them.

A foreign parent group consists of:
1) the foreign parent;
2) any foreign person, proceeding up the foreign parent’s ownership chain, that owns more than 50% of the person below it, up to and including the ultimate controller; and
3) any foreign person, proceeding down the ownership chain(s) of each of these members, that is owned more than 50% by the person above it.

Refers to all persons who have that country as country of usual residence and who are the citizens of another country.

Are persons beyond retirement age who are granted the right to stay over a long period or indefinitely in the territory of a State other than their own provided that they have sufficient independent income and do not become a charge to that State.

A road vehicle registered in a country other than the reporting country and bearing registration plates of that foreign country.

Are persons admitted by a country other than their own, usually under special permits or visas, for the specific purpose of following a particular course of study in an accredited institution of the receiving country.

See Subsidiary

Are foreign persons admitted under tourist visas (if required) for purposes of leisure, recreation, holiday, visits to friends or relatives, health or medical treatment, or religious pilgrimage. They must spend at least a night in a collective or private accommodation in the receiving country and their duration of stay must not surpass 12 months.

Shows the extent to which exports earnings finance imports, and thus illustrates the position of the balance of trade in terms of its components rather than their difference. A percentage higher than one means a balance surplus and lower one means a deficit.

Are persons admitted by a country other than their own to acquire particular skills through on-the-job training. Foreign trainees are therefore allowed to work only in the specific institution or establishment providing the training and their length of stay is usually restricted.

Distant water fishing vessels or fishing vessels flying a foreign flag operating within the fishing zone of a coastal state.

U.S. security first issued October 24 1984, specially aimed at attracting foreign investors. It is a hybrid between a bearer (favored by European investors) and registered security (as preferred by the Internal Revenue Service), in that the owner does not have to be registered but securities dealers must certify that the purchaser is not an American citizen or resident. Interest is paid once a year. Initial issue was three-year 11 month notes at 3 tenths of a point below ordinary notes.

The foreign-born population of a country is all persons who have that country as the country of usual residence and whose place of birth is located in another country.

Foreigners admitted for family formation or reunification are foreigners admitted because they are the immediate relatives of citizens or foreigners already residing in the receiving country or because they are the foreign fiancée(e)s or the foreign adopted children of citizens.

Are foreigners who are not granted full refugee status but are nevertheless admitted for humanitarian reasons because they find themselves in refugee-like situations.

Are foreign persons granted the permission to reside in the receiving country without limitations regarding duration of stay or exercise of an economic activity. Their dependants, if admitted, are also included in this category.

Are foreigners who are allowed to stay for a temporary though possibly indefinite period because their life would be in danger if they were to return to their country of citizenship.

Are foreigners who have the right to enter, stay and work within the territory of a country other than their own by virtue of an agreement or treaty concluded between their country of citizenship and the country they enter.

Are persons who arrive in the receiving country but do not enter it formally because they are on their way to another destination.

Is a category that encompasses both persons who are allowed to file an application for asylum (asylum-seekers proper) and those who do not enter the asylum adjudication system formally but are nevertheless granted the permission to stay until they can return safely to their countries of origin (that is to say, they become foreigners granted temporary protected status).

Refers to foreigners who violate the rules of admission and stay of the receiving country and are deportable, as well as foreign persons attempting to seek asylum but who are not allowed to file an application and are not permitted to stay in the receiving country on any other grounds.

Foreseen obsolescence is the loss in value on an asset through obsolescence that the purchaser was expecting to occur when the asset was acquired. Foreseen obsolescence is included in consumption of fixed capital

Land spanning more than 0.5 ha with trees higher than 5 metres and a canopy cover of more than 10 percent, or trees able to reach these thresholds in situ.

A forest account for timber in physical terms shows the opening and closing stocks of standing timber and the changes between the beginning and the end of the accounting period.

The age structure of a forest is often expressed as the area of the forest consisting mainly of trees of the same age (i.e., by age class) or by proportions of trees in different age classes. The age-class division used is dependent on the ages of trees of different species. For forest accounting purposes, it is useful to have the age-structure expressed in terms of timber volumes. This may be derived by combining data on the number of trees with the average volume of timber for a tree of a given age. Since the volume of a mature tree is much larger than for a young tree, the distribution of timber volume may be very different from the distribution of number of trees.