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This article lists the member states of the United Nations (UN). There are currently 192 UN member states, and each of them is a member of the United Nations General Assembly.1
According to the United Nations Charter, Chapter 2, Article 4:2
- Membership in the United Nations is open to all other peace-loving states which accept the obligations contained in the present Charter and, in the judgment of the Organization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations.
- The admission of any such state to membership in the United Nations will be effected by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council.
In principle, only sovereign states can become UN members, and today all UN members are fully sovereign states. However, four of the original members (Belarus, India, the Philippines, and Ukraine) were not independent at the time of their admission. Moreover, because a state can only be admitted by the approval of the Security Council and the General Assembly, some entities which may be considered sovereign states according to the Montevideo Convention are not members due to the fact that the UN do not consider them to be sovereign states, the lack of international recognition or opposition from certain members.
International organizations, non-governmental organizations, and entities whose statehood or sovereignty are not precisely defined, can only become United Nations General Assembly observers by invitation, allowing them to speak, but not vote, in General Assembly meetings.
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Current members
The member states are listed below with their respective dates of admission. There were 51 original members of the UN which were admitted in 1945, of which 49 are either still UN members or have their seats continued by a successor state (e.g., the USSR's seat has been continued by Russia). The other two original members were Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, as both had dissolved and their seats were not continued by any state (see Former members: Czechoslovakia and Former members: Yugoslavia respectively). For China's seat in the UN, the Republic of China was replaced by the People's Republic of China on 25 October 1971, even though the governments of both have existed well before and after this date (see Seat of China).
The names used below are the official names of the member states used by the UN; however, the list is sorted by the common names of the member states for ease of navigation. To sort the member states by their official names used by the UN or their dates of admissions, click on the buttons in the column headers.
- Note: Member states with background color and bold font are original members.
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Notes
- ^ Belarus was originally admitted as the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic, before declaring independence in 1991. It informed the UN that it had changed its name from Byelorussia to its current name on 19 September 1991.
- ^ Benin was originally admitted as Dahomey, before changing its name in 1975.
- ^ Burkina Faso was originally admitted as Upper Volta, before changing its name in 1984.
- ^ Cameroon was originally admitted as Cameroun, before merging with Southern Cameroons in 1961.
- ^ The Democratic Republic of the Congo was originally admitted as Congo (Leopoldville). It later changed its name to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1964, and then to Zaire in 1971, and back to its current name on 17 May 1997.
- ^ The Republic of the Congo was originally admitted as Congo (Brazzaville).
- ^ Côte d'Ivoire was originally admitted as Ivory Coast, before changing its name in 1985.
- ^ Indonesia temporarily withdrew from the UN on 20 January 1965 in response to the fact that Malaysia was elected as a non-permanent member of the Security Council. It announced its intention "to resume full cooperation with the United Nations and to resume participation in its activities" on 19 September 1966, and was invited to re-join the UN on 28 September 1966.
- ^ Originally admitted as Iran.
- ^ Originally admitted as Laos.
- ^ Originally admitted as Libya.
- ^ Provisionally referred to for all purposes within the United Nations as "The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia" pending settlement of the difference that had arisen over its name.
- ^ Mala