The United Nations is the world’s largest intergovernmental institution. It was founded in 1945 with 51 members. Since its founding, it has added 142 members, with South Sudan joining in 2011 as the latest member. At the time of writing, the United Nations has 193 member states, representing every major geographic region, and two permanent non-member observer states: Palestine and the Holy See/Vatican City. Each member has a seat in the United Nations General Assembly, a global forum for states to discuss international peace, security, development, human rights, and international law.
The United Nations is headquartered in New York City, United States. Each member contributes to the UN General Assembly budget, with contributions calculated using a formula that considers a member’s gross national income (GNI), debt burden, and population, among other factors.
The United Nations has 51 founding members
The United Nations’ 51 founding member states includes: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippine Republic, Poland, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic, Union of South Africa, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yugoslavia. Since its founding, several members have dissolved, merged, or changed their names.
The expansion of the United Nations
Since its founding, the United Nations has experienced several waves of membership growth. The first and largest wave was in the 1960s as decolonization spread. The United Nations welcomed 44 new members throughout the 1960s as newly independent countries sought membership. By the end of the decade, it had 126 members. Growth continued steadily throughout the 1970s. Sixteen states joined the UN that decade, bringing the total to 152 member states. The next big wave followed the end of the Cold War as new states emerged from the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, and Czechoslovakia, and were admitted to the United Nations. Between 1992 and 2011, the United Nations admitted another 27 members, bringing its membership to 193 states.
Criteria for becoming a member of the United Nations
The criteria for becoming a member of the United Nations are quite straightforward.
A State applies for membership by submitting an application to the UN Secretary-General and formally agreeing to follow the obligations of the UN Charter.
The Security Council reviews the application. At least 9 of its 15 members must vote in favour, with none of the five permanent members voting against it.
If the Security Council approves the application, it goes to the General Assembly, where at least two-thirds of members must vote in favour. Membership takes effect on the date the General Assembly adopts the admission resolution.
Current members of the United Nations
The table below lists the 193 members of the United Nations and the date on which they were admitted.
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Last Updated: November 12, 2026
About Source(s)
Source: The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations, and promoting social progress, better living standards, and human rights. Currently made up of 193 Member States, the UN and its work are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding UN Charter. The United Nations is also a major source of data on human development, health, economics, and agriculture gathered through its agencies and partner organizations.
Notes: Light processing by FWD
