[1] It was devised by the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) based on the M49 coding classification.
[2] The UNSD geoscheme was created for statistical analysis and consists of macro-geographical regions arranged to the extent possible according to continents.
Antarctica is the only continental region which does not comprise any geographical subregions or country-level areas.
The UNSD geoscheme does not set a standard for the entire United Nations System, and it often differs from geographical definitions used by the autonomous United Nations specialized agencies for their own organizational convenience.
[3][4] This "statistical" definition also differs from United Nations Regional Groups.