The terms country/economy as used in this survey also refer as appropriate to territories or areas the designations employed and the presentation of the material do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the secretariat of the united nations concerning the legal status of any country territory city or area or of its authorities or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. In addition the designations of country groups are intended solely for statistical or analytical convenience and do not necessarily express a judgement about the stage of development reached by a particular country or area in the development process. The major country groupings used in this survey follow the classification of the united nations statistical office. these are: