If you can use C++11 lambda expressions, you can do something like this:

static const ContainerType GLOBAL_REGISTRY =  []() -> ContainerType // lambda that return a ContainerType

{

     ContainerType my_container;

     // fill the container however you want, done only once
     return my_container;

}(); // don't forget the () to execute the lambda on initialization

It's better than a free function because you are sure it cannot be called by any other code.
Hope it helps.

Joel Lamotte