Member states of the United Nations

Member states of the United Nations
source
Name	United Nations member states
Caption	Flag of the United Nations
Established	24 October 1945
Membership	193 member states

Contents

Member states of the United Nations are sovereign entities granted full participation in the United Nations system following admission by the United Nations Security Council and approval of the United Nations General Assembly. Membership confers rights and duties within principal organs such as the United Nations Security Council, the United Nations General Assembly, the International Court of Justice and specialized agencies including the World Health Organization, the International Monetary Fund and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. The composition of member states reflects processes originating from the Atlantic Charter, the Yalta Conference and the United Nations Conference on International Organization in 1945.

Membership and Admission Criteria

Admission to the UN requires a formal application submitted by the sovereign authority and a recommendation from the United Nations Security Council followed by an affirmative two‑thirds vote in the United Nations General Assembly. The criteria derive from the Charter of the United Nations, specifically Article 4, and reference historical instruments such as the San Francisco Conference outcomes and precedents involving Dominion of Pakistan and Republic of Korea admissions. Security Council practice has invoked vetoes by permanent members—United States, Russian Federation, China, United Kingdom, France—in cases like applications from Republic of China (Taiwan) and Republic of Macedonia (now North Macedonia), with negotiations often referencing Good offices and resolutions of the United Nations Security Council veto disputes. Admission controversies have involved state recognition issues tied to Palestine Liberation Organization, Republic of Kosovo, Taiwan and post‑colonial entries such as India, Algeria and Indonesia.

The UN roster currently lists 193 sovereign states including founding members such as the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union (succeeded by the Russian Federation), and post‑1945 additions like Indonesia (1945), Algeria (1962), South Sudan (2011) and Eritrea (1993). Regional groupings recognised in UN practice include the Group of 77, the Non-Aligned Movement, the European Union member states (such as Germany, France, Poland), and African Union participants like Nigeria and South Africa. The list records unique admission histories: Vatican City (Holy See) holds observer status contrasting with full members such as Italy and Spain; Cold War-era accessions include Yugoslavia (successor issues later involving Serbia and Montenegro), while breakup states such as Czechoslovakia resulted in successor members like Czech Republic and Slovakia.

Member states possess the right to participate in General Assembly deliberations, to stand for election to UN bodies like the International Court of Justice and the Human Rights Council, and to seek membership on the Security Council non‑permanent seats subject to regional rotation (e.g., African Group, Asia-Pacific Group, Eastern European Group). Obligations flow from the Charter of the United Nations to settle disputes peacefully as envisaged by the International Court of Justice and to comply with binding Security Council measures under Chapter VII, as seen in resolutions addressing crises in Iraq, Libya, Sierra Leone and Bosnia and Herzegovina. Member states also contribute to UN peacekeeping under mandates like United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire and funding mechanisms including the United Nations Regular Budget, with compliance monitored through instruments such as Article 94 proceedings before the International Court of Justice and treaty bodies like the Human Rights Committee.

Representation of member states in the General Assembly is one state, one vote; elections to bodies such as the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council and the Human Rights Council employ regional group endorsements and secret ballots within the Assembly and are governed by rules negotiated in sessions chaired by the President of the General Assembly and influenced by blocs like the G77 and the Non-Aligned Movement. Voting rules differ: Security Council substantive decisions require affirmative votes of nine members including concurrence of the five permanent members, referencing precedents from Resolution 242 (1967) and Resolution 678 (1990), while procedural matters in the General Assembly are decided by a simple majority under the Rules of Procedure of the General Assembly. Representation also extends to permanent missions accredited to the UN in United Nations Headquarters in New York City, staffed by ambassadors and diplomats who often triangulate positions with capitals such as Washington, D.C., Moscow, Beijing and London.

Changes in membership have occurred through decolonisation, state succession, dissolution and unification. Decolonisation produced entries like Ghana and Kenya; dissolution of federations created successor states from Soviet Union into the Commonwealth of Independent States members and from Yugoslavia into Croatia, Slovenia and others, raising succession questions adjudicated in political forums and sometimes in the International Court of Justice. Cases of unification (e.g., Yemen merger) and separation (e.g., Sudan leading to South Sudan) demonstrate differing legal and political treatments, with the Russian Federation inheriting the Soviet Union Security Council seat after Belavezha Accords discussions and diplomatic recognition patterns involving United States and European Union members. Withdrawal and expulsion remain rare and legally ambiguous, debated in literature citing the Charter of the United Nations and precedents linked to League of Nations practice.

Entities with observer status include the Holy See and the State of Palestine, which participate in General Assembly debates without the right to vote; other entities and organizations such as the European Union, International Committee of the Red Cross and specialised intergovernmental bodies attend as observers or guests pursuant to Assembly decisions. Non‑member entities seeking fuller participation reference instruments like the Montevideo Convention for statehood criteria and diplomatic recognition by UN members including France, United Kingdom, Russia and United States. Distinct categories of participation encompass treaty‑holding non‑members, international organisations with privileges under the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations, and entities engaged through arrangements such as the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.