United Nations facts for kids

Quick facts for kids United Nations Arabic: منظمة الأمم المتحدة Chinese: 联合国 French: Organisation des Nations unies Russian: Организация Объединённых Наций Spanish: Organización de las Naciones Unidas
Flag Emblem
Members of the United Nations
Headquarters	760 United Nations Plaza, Manhattan, New York City, United States (international zone)
Official languages	Arabic Chinese English French Russian Spanish
Type	Intergovernmental organization
Membership	193 member states 2 observer states
Leaders
• Secretary‑General	António Guterres
• Deputy Secretary-General	Amina J. Mohammed
• General Assembly President	Dennis Francis
Establishment
• UN Charter signed	26 June 1945 (79 years ago) (1945-06-26)
• Charter entered into force	24 October 1945 (79 years ago) (1945-10-24)
Website (General) (Permanent Missions)
Preceded by League of Nations

The United Nations (UN) is a big international group of countries. Its main goals are to keep peace and safety around the world. It also helps countries become friends and work together. The UN is the largest international organization globally. Its main office is in New York City, USA. It also has offices in Geneva, Nairobi, Vienna, and The Hague. The International Court of Justice is in The Hague.

The UN was created after World War II. Its aim was to stop future world wars. It took over from an older group called the League of Nations, which wasn't very effective. On April 25, 1945, 50 countries met in San Francisco, California. They started writing the UN Charter, which is like the UN's rulebook. It was approved on June 25, 1945. The Charter officially started on October 24, 1945, and the UN began its work.

The UN's goals include keeping peace, protecting human rights, giving humanitarian aid, helping with sustainable development, and following international law. When it started, the UN had 51 member states. As of as of 2023^[update], it has 193 members. This means almost all countries in the world are part of it.

In its early years, the UN's goal of keeping peace was hard because of the Cold War. This was a time of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union. The UN often sent unarmed military observers or lightly armed troops. Their job was to watch, report, and build trust. Many new countries joined the UN in the 1960s after gaining independence. By the 1970s, the UN spent much more money on helping countries develop than on peacekeeping. After the Cold War ended in 1991, the UN started many new and complex tasks.

The UN has six main parts: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the International Court of Justice, the UN Secretariat, and the Trusteeship Council. The Trusteeship Council has not been active since 1994. The UN System also includes many other groups like the World Bank Group, the World Health Organization, and UNICEF.

The main leader of the UN is the Secretary-General. Currently, this is António Guterres from Portugal. He started his first five-year term in 2017 and was re-elected in 2021. The UN gets its money from member countries.

The UN and its staff have won many Nobel Peace Prizes. Some people think the UN is very important for peace and helping people. Others think it's not always effective or fair.

The UN's Story: How it Started and Grew

Before the UN: A Look Back (Pre-1941)

Before the UN, groups like the International Committee of the Red Cross were formed. They aimed to help people affected by wars.

After World War I, leaders like American President Woodrow Wilson wanted a world group to ensure peace. The winners of the war created the League of Nations in 1920. But the United States never joined it. The League Council helped run the Assembly's work. It started with four main members: the United Kingdom, France, Italy, and Japan.

The League had some successes in the 1920s. But in the 1930s, it failed to act. For example, it didn't stop Japan from invading Manchuria in 1933. Japan simply left the League when asked to withdraw. It also failed to stop Italy's invasion of Ethiopia in 1936. Calls for economic penalties against Italy didn't work. Italy and other nations then left the League.

When war started in 1939, the League of Nations closed down.

Building the UN: World War II Declarations (1941–1944)

The first step toward the UN was the Declaration of St James's Palace in June 1941. In August 1941, American President Franklin D. Roosevelt and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill wrote the Atlantic Charter. This document set goals for the world after the war. Other countries, including the Soviet Union, agreed to these ideas.

Roosevelt and Churchill met in December 1941. Roosevelt came up with the name United Nations for the Allied countries. Churchill liked the name. On December 29, 1941, they wrote the Declaration by United Nations. It included ideas from the Soviet Union. A big change from the Atlantic Charter was adding freedom of religion.

Roosevelt's idea of the "Four Policemen" came from this Declaration. These were the four main Allied countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, and China. On New Year's Day 1942, these leaders signed the Declaration. Representatives from 22 other nations signed the next day. During the war, "United Nations" became the official name for the Allies. To join, countries had to sign the Declaration and declare war on the Axis powers.

In October 1943, the Moscow Conference led to the Moscow Declarations. These included a plan for a new international organization. This was the first public announcement about replacing the League of Nations. Soon after, Roosevelt, Churchill, and Joseph Stalin (leader of the Soviet Union) discussed the idea at the Tehran Conference.

The new organization's plans were worked out by the Allied Big Four at the Dumbarton Oaks Conference in 1944. They agreed on its goals, structure, and how it would work. It took more talks at the Yalta Conference in February 1945 to solve all the remaining issues.

The UN is Born (1945)

By March 1945, 21 more countries had signed the Declaration by the United Nations. The UN Conference started in San Francisco on April 25, 1945. Fifty countries and many other groups attended. The Big Four countries led the main meetings. The Charter of the United Nations was finished and signed on June 26, 1945, by 50 countries. The UN officially began on October 24, 1945. This happened when the Charter was approved by the five permanent members of the Security Council (United States, United Kingdom, France, Soviet Union, and China) and most of the other 46 nations.

The first meetings of the General Assembly and the Security Council were in London in January 1946. They immediately discussed important issues. British diplomat Gladwyn Jebb was the temporary secretary-general.

The General Assembly chose New York City for the UN headquarters. Construction started in 1948 and finished in 1952. Trygve Lie from Norway was elected as the first official UN Secretary-General.

The Cold War Years (1947–1991)

The UN's main job was to keep peace. But the disagreement between the United States and the Soviet Union often stopped the UN from acting. It could usually only get involved in conflicts far from the Cold War. One big exception was in 1950. The Security Council allowed a US-led group to stop North Korea from invading South Korea. This happened because the Soviet Union was not present to vote.

In 1947, the General Assembly voted to divide Palestine and create Israel. Two years later, a UN official helped arrange a ceasefire for the conflict that followed. In 1956, the first UN peacekeeping force was set up to end the Suez Crisis. However, the UN could not stop the Soviet Union from invading Hungary at the same time.

In 1960, the UN created a large military force called UNOC. It helped bring order to Katanga and return it to the Democratic Republic of the Congo. During this conflict, Dag Hammarskjöld, a very effective Secretary-General, died in a plane crash. He was given the Nobel Peace Prize after his death. In 1964, his successor, U Thant, sent peacekeepers to Cyprus. This became one of the UN's longest peacekeeping missions.

As many countries gained independence in the 1960s, UN membership grew quickly. In 1960 alone, 17 new states joined, mostly from Africa. In 1971, the People's Republic of China took China's seat on the Security Council. This happened despite opposition from the United States. Many Third World nations supported this change. This vote showed that American influence in the UN was decreasing.

With more Third World countries joining, the UN focused more on economic development and cultural exchange. By the 1970s, the UN spent much more on social and economic programs than on peacekeeping.

The UN After the Cold War (1991–Present)

After the Cold War, the UN's peacekeeping work grew a lot. It took on more missions in five years than in the previous forty years. Between 1988 and 2000, the number of Security Council decisions more than doubled. The peacekeeping budget also increased by over ten times. The UN helped end the Salvadoran Civil War and oversaw elections in South Africa and Cambodia. In 1991, the UN allowed a US-led group to stop Iraq's invasion of Kuwait.

However, some missions faced problems. The UN mission in Somalia was seen as a failure after the US left. The UN mission in Bosnia was criticized for being unclear. In 1994, the UN failed to stop the Rwandan genocide.

From the late 1990s to early 2000s, UN-approved actions changed. The UN allowed NATO to lead a force in Kosovo in 1999. A British military action helped the UN mission in the Sierra Leone Civil War. In 2003, the United States invaded Iraq without a UN Security Council approval. This led to more questions about how effective the UN was.

Under the eighth Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, the UN sent peacekeepers to conflicts in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It also sent observers to the Syrian Civil War. In 2010, the UN suffered its worst loss of life when 101 staff died in the Haiti earthquake.

The Millennium Summit in 2000 discussed the UN's role in the 21st century. World leaders agreed to the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). These were goals for reducing poverty, promoting equality, and improving health by 2015. Progress was uneven. The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were launched in 2015 to continue this work.

The UN also tries to be more open and work with regular people. In 2016, it held its first public debate for Secretary-General candidates. On January 1, 2017, António Guterres became the ninth Secretary-General. He wants to focus on preventing conflicts and making peacekeeping better.

How the UN Works: Its Main Parts

The United Nations is part of a larger UN System. This system includes many groups and organizations. The UN has five main parts set up by its Charter: the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the International Court of Justice, and the UN Secretariat. There was a sixth part, the Trusteeship Council, but it stopped working in 1994.

Four of the five main parts are at the UN Headquarters in New York City. The International Court of Justice is in The Hague, Netherlands. Other big UN offices are in Geneva, Vienna, and Nairobi. The UN has six official languages for meetings and documents: Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, and Spanish. The UN and its groups are protected by special rules. This helps them stay fair to all countries.

Below the main parts are many other groups. Some of these are even older than the UN itself. They work almost independently. These include special agencies, research groups, and programs.

All UN organizations follow a rule called the Noblemaire principle. This means salaries should be high enough to attract people from countries with good pay. It also ensures equal pay for equal work, no matter where someone is from.

The General Assembly: Where All Countries Meet

The General Assembly is the main meeting place for the UN. All UN member states are part of it. The Assembly meets every year in the General Assembly Hall. Special emergency meetings can also be called. A president leads the Assembly, chosen by member states.

When the General Assembly makes big decisions, like about peace, new members, or money, two-thirds of the countries voting must agree. For other questions, a simple majority vote is enough. Each country gets one vote. Decisions about money are binding, but other resolutions are not. The Assembly can suggest ideas on any UN topic. However, it cannot discuss peace and security issues that the Security Council is already working on.

Ideas for resolutions can come from the Assembly's six main committees:

• First Committee (Disarmament and International Security)
• Second Committee (Economic and Financial)
• Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, and Cultural)
• Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization)
• Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary)
• Sixth Committee (Legal)

There are also two other committees:

• General Committee – This group supervises and includes the Assembly's president and committee heads.
• Credentials Committee – This group checks the official papers of each country's UN representatives.

The Security Council: Keeping Global Peace

The Security Council is responsible for keeping peace and safety among countries. While other UN parts can only suggest things, the Security Council can make decisions that member countries must follow. These decisions are called United Nations Security Council resolutions.

The Security Council has fifteen member states. Five of these are permanent members: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. These five permanent members have veto power. This means they can stop a resolution from being passed, though not from being discussed. The other ten members are non-permanent. They serve for two-year terms. Five new members are chosen each year by the General Assembly. The presidency of the Security Council changes alphabetically each month.

The UN Secretariat: Running the Daily Show

The UN Secretariat handles the daily tasks of the UN. It has thousands of international staff members worldwide. It is led by the Secretary-General, who gets help from a deputy. The Secretariat's jobs include providing information for UN meetings and carrying out tasks given by the Security Council, General Assembly, and other UN groups.

The Secretary-General is the spokesperson and leader of the UN. The UN Charter says this person is the chief administrator. The Charter also allows the Secretary-General to tell the Security Council about anything that might threaten peace. This has given the position a lot of power on the world stage. The job has become a mix of managing the UN and acting as a diplomat to solve problems between countries.

The General Assembly appoints the Secretary-General. The Security Council recommends the person, and the permanent members can veto the choice. There are no strict rules for the job. But usually, the person serves for one or two five-year terms. The current Secretary-General is António Guterres from Portugal. He took over from Ban Ki-moon in 2017.

Secretaries-General of the United Nations

No.	Name	Country of origin	Took office	Left office	Notes
-	Gladwyn Jebb	United Kingdom	24 October 1945	2 February 1946	Served as acting secretary-general until Lie's election
1	Trygve Lie	Norway	2 February 1946	10 November 1952	Resigned
2	Dag Hammarskjöld	Sweden	10 April 1953	18 September 1961	Died in office
3	U Thant	Burma	30 November 1961	31 December 1971	First non-European to hold office
4	Kurt Waldheim	Austria	1 January 1972	31 December 1981
5	Javier Pérez de Cuéllar	Peru	1 January 1982	31 December 1991
6	Boutros Boutros-Ghali	Egypt	1 January 1992	31 December 1996	Served for the shortest time
7	Kofi Annan	Ghana	1 January 1997	31 December 2006
8	Ban Ki-moon	South Korea	1 January 2007	31 December 2016
9	António Guterres	Portugal	1 January 2017	Incumbent

The International Court of Justice: The World's Court

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), also called the World Court, is the UN's main court. It is located in The Hague, Netherlands, not New York City. The ICJ's main job is to settle disagreements between countries. It hears cases about war crimes, violations of country borders, and other serious issues. The court can also give advice on international law to other UN groups. All UN member states agree to follow the ICJ's rules. Its decisions are binding for the countries involved. The court has 15 judges, chosen for nine-year terms by the General Assembly. Each judge must be from a different country.

The Economic and Social Council: Helping People and Economies

The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) helps the General Assembly. It works to promote international economic and social cooperation. It is the UN's largest and most complex body. ECOSOC gathers information, does studies, and gives advice to member states. Its work is done by many smaller groups. These groups focus on topics like indigenous peoples, forest management, and sustainable development. ECOSOC can also allow non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to advise it. As of April 2021, almost 5,600 organizations have this status.

Specialized Agencies: Experts in Different Fields

The UN Charter says that each main UN part can create special agencies. These agencies help fulfill the UN's duties. Specialized agencies are independent groups that work with the UN. They coordinate through ECOSOC. There are fifteen specialized agencies. They do many different things, like helping with international travel, preventing diseases, and promoting economic growth.

Specialized agencies of the United Nations

No.	Acronym	Agency	Headquarters	Head	Established in
1	FAO	Food and Agriculture Organization	Rome, Italy	Qu Dongyu	1945
2	ICAO	International Civil Aviation Organization	Montreal, Quebec, Canada	Juan Carlos Salazar	1947
3	IFAD	International Fund for Agricultural Development	Rome, Italy	Alvaro Lario [de]	1977
4	ILO	International Labour Organization	Geneva, Switzerland	Gilbert Houngbo	1946 (1919)
5	IMO	International Maritime Organization	London, United Kingdom	Kitack Lim	1948
6	IMF	International Monetary Fund	Washington, D.C., United States	Kristalina Georgieva	1945 (1944)
7	ITU	International Telecommunication Union	Geneva, Switzerland	Doreen Bogdan-Martin	1947 (1865)
8	UNESCO	United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization	Paris, France	Audrey Azoulay	1945
9	UNIDO	United Nations Industrial Development Organization	Vienna, Austria	Gerd Müller	1967
10	UNWTO	World Tourism Organization	Madrid, Spain	Zurab Pololikashvili	1974
11	UPU	Universal Postal Union	Bern, Switzerland	Masahiko Metoki	1947 (1874)
12	WBG	World Bank Group	Washington, D.C., United States	Ajay Banga (president)	1945 (1944)
13	WHO	World Health Organization	Geneva, Switzerland	Tedros Adhanom	1948
14	WIPO	World Intellectual Property Organization	Geneva, Switzerland	Daren Tang	1974
15	WMO	World Meteorological Organization	Geneva, Switzerland	Petteri Taalas (secretary-general) Gerhard Adrian [de; fr] (president)	1950 (1873)

Other UN Groups: Funds and Programs

The UN system also has many other independent funds, programs, and research groups. Each has its own work area and budget. Groups like the World Trade Organization (WTO) and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) work closely with the UN. The UN does much of its humanitarian work through these groups. For example, they prevent hunger (the World Food Programme), protect refugees (the UNHCR), and fight diseases like HIV/AIDS (the UNAIDS).

Programmes and funds of the United Nations

Acronyms	Agency	Headquarters	Head	Established
UNDP	United Nations Development Programme	New York City, United States	Achim Steiner	1965
UNICEF	United Nations Children's Fund	New York City, United States	Catherine M. Russell	1946
UNCDF	United Nations Capital Development Fund	New York City, United States	Marc Bichler	1966
WFP	World Food Programme	Rome, Italy	Cindy McCain	1963
UNEP	United Nations Environment Programme	Nairobi, Kenya	Inger Andersen	1972
UNFPA	United Nations Population Fund	New York City, United States	Natalia Kanem	1969
UN-HABITAT	United Nations Human Settlements Programme	Nairobi, Kenya	Maimunah Mohd Sharif	1978
UNV	United Nations Volunteers	Bonn, Germany	Toily Kurbanov	1978

Who Belongs to the UN?

Almost all independent countries in the world are members of the United Nations. South Sudan joined on July 14, 2011. It is the newest member, bringing the total to 193 UN member states. The UN Charter explains the rules for membership:

1. Membership in the United Nations is open to all other peace-loving states that accept the obligations contained in the present Charter and, in the judgment of the Organization, are able and willing to carry out these obligations.
   
2. The admission of any such state to membership in the United Nations will be affected by a decision of the General Assembly upon the recommendation of the Security Council. Chapter II, Article 4.

There are also two non-member observer states: the Holy See and Palestine. The Cook Islands and Niue are associated with New Zealand. They are full members of some UN special agencies.

Indonesia was the first and only country to try to leave the UN. This happened in 1965 because of a disagreement. After trying to create a rival group, Indonesia rejoined the UN in 1966.

The Group of 77: Developing Nations Unite

The Group of 77 (G77) at the UN is a group of developing nations. They work together to promote their shared economic interests. They also aim to have a stronger voice in UN discussions. Seventy-seven nations started the group. By November 2013, it had grown to 133 member countries. The group was founded on June 15, 1964. It held its first big meeting in Algiers in 1967.

What the UN Aims to Do

The UN's overall plan is called the United Nations Common Agenda.

Keeping Peace and Security

The UN sends peacekeepers to areas where fighting has stopped or paused. This happens after the Security Council approves it. Peacekeepers help make sure peace agreements are followed. They also try to stop fighting from starting again. The UN does not have its own army. So, member countries volunteer their soldiers. These soldiers are sometimes called "Blue Helmets" because of their blue helmets. UN peacekeeping forces won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1988.

The UN has done 71 peacekeeping operations since 1947. As of April 2021, over 88,000 peacekeepers from 121 nations are on missions. The largest mission is in South Sudan, with nearly 19,200 staff. The smallest is in Jammu and Kashmir, with 113 staff. UN peacekeepers have been in the Middle East since 1948. This is the longest active peacekeeping mission.

A study in 2005 found that the UN was successful in two-thirds of its peacekeeping efforts. It also found that UN nation-building efforts led to peace in 87.5% of cases. The Human Security Report noted a drop in wars and human rights abuses since the Cold War. It suggested that UN actions were a main reason for this decline.

However, the UN has also been criticized for its failures. Sometimes, member countries do not want to enforce Security Council decisions. Disagreements in the Security Council led to failures to prevent genocides. These include the Bangladesh genocide in 1971, the Cambodian genocide in the 1970s, and the Rwandan genocide in 1994. The UN also failed to prevent the Srebrenica massacre or finish peacekeeping in the Somali Civil War.

Besides peacekeeping, the UN also encourages disarmament. This means reducing weapons. The UN Charter included this idea in 1945. It was a way to save human and money resources. After nuclear weapons were invented, the UN called for removing atomic weapons. The UN has been involved in treaties to limit weapons. These include the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Chemical Weapons Convention. Three UN groups oversee weapon issues: the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization Preparatory Commission.

Protecting Human Rights

One of the UN's main goals is to "promote respect for human rights." This means protecting basic freedoms for everyone, no matter their race, gender, language, or religion. Member states promise to work together to protect these rights.

In 1948, the General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This document was written by a committee led by Eleanor Roosevelt. It lists basic civil, political, and economic rights for all people. It is a "common standard" for everyone, not a legally binding document. But it has led to two important treaties. In practice, the UN cannot take strong action against human rights abuses without a Security Council decision. However, it does a lot of work investigating and reporting abuses.

In 1979, the General Assembly adopted a convention to stop discrimination against women. In 1989, it adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. After the Cold War, human rights work gained new energy. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights was formed in 1993. In 2006, it was replaced by the United Nations Human Rights Council, which has 47 nations. Also in 2006, the General Assembly passed a declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples. In 2011, it passed its first resolution recognizing the rights of LGBTQ+ people.

Other UN groups work on women's rights. These include the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women and the United Nations Development Fund for Women. The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues held its first meeting in 2002.

Helping Economies and People in Need

Millennium Development Goals

Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger Achieve universal primary education Promote gender equality and empower women Reduce child mortality Improve maternal health Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other diseases Ensure environmental sustainability Develop a global partnership for development

Another main goal of the UN is to "achieve international cooperation." This means solving global problems in economics, society, culture, and humanitarian aid. Many groups have been created to work on this. In 2000, 192 UN member states agreed to achieve eight Millennium Development Goals by 2015. The Sustainable Development Goals were launched in 2015 to continue these efforts.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is a leading group in international development. It gives grants for technical help. The UNDP also publishes the UN Human Development Index. This measures countries by poverty, education, life expectancy, and other factors. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) helps with farming and food safety. The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) was created in 1946 to help European children after World War II. It now helps children worldwide and supports the Rights of the Child.

The World Bank Group and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) are independent groups. They work with the UN. The World Bank gives loans for development. The IMF helps with international economic cooperation and gives emergency loans to countries in debt.

The World Health Organization (WHO) focuses on global health and stopping diseases. In 1980, the WHO announced that smallpox had been completely removed from the world. Later, the WHO also helped get rid of polio and leprosy. The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) coordinates the UN's work against the AIDS epidemic. The United Nations Population Fund is the largest source of money for reproductive health services.

The UN, along with the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, leads emergency relief efforts. The World Food Programme (WFP) provides food aid during famines, natural disasters, and conflicts. It feeds about 90 million people in 80 countries each year. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) protects the rights of refugees. These programs get money from voluntary donations from governments, companies, and people.

Caring for the Environment and Climate

The UN started focusing on environmental issues in 1972. That's when the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) was formed. In 1992, the Earth Summit in Brazil tried to boost these efforts. In 1988, UNEP and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) created the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. This group studies and reports on global warming. The UN-supported Kyoto Protocol set rules for countries to reduce their pollution.

Other Global Issues the UN Works On

Since the UN was created, over 80 colonies have become independent. The General Assembly adopted a declaration on independence for colonies in 1960. The UN works for decolonization through groups like the Special Committee on Decolonization. This committee lists seventeen remaining "non-self-governing territories."

The UN also announces and organizes "international observances." These days bring attention to important global issues. Examples include World Tuberculosis Day and Earth Day.

How the UN Gets its Money

Top 25 contributors to the United Nations budget for the period 2022–2024

Member state	Contribution (% of UN budget)
United States	22.000
China	15.254
Japan	8.033
Germany	6.111
United Kingdom	4.375
France	4.318
Italy	3.189
Canada	2.628
South Korea	2.574
Spain	2.134
Australia	2.111
Brazil	2.013
Russia	1.866
Netherlands	1.377
Mexico	1.221
Saudi Arabia	1.184
Switzerland	1.134
India	1.044
Sweden	0.871
Turkey	0.845
Poland	0.837
Belgium	0.828
Argentina	0.719
Norway	0.679
Austria	0.679
Other member states	11.976

The UN's budget for 2024 was $3.59 billion. This does not include extra money given by members, like for peacekeeping. Including all its special agencies, the UN system spent $67.4 billion in 2022.

The UN gets money from its member states. The General Assembly approves the main budget. It decides how much each member should pay. This is based on how much each country can afford. It looks at their income and debt.

The UN wants to avoid relying too much on any one member. So, there's a "ceiling" rate. This is the most any member can be asked to pay for the regular budget. In 2000, this limit was lowered from 25% to 22%. For the poorest countries, the limit is 0.01%. The smallest amount any member pays is 0.001% of the budget.

A large part of the UN's spending is for peace and security. This budget is separate from the main one. The peacekeeping budget for 2021–2022 was $6.38 billion. This supported 66,839 staff in 12 missions. Peacekeeping operations are funded by special payments. The five permanent Security Council members pay more. This helps less developed countries pay less. The biggest contributors to the UN peacekeeping budget for 2023–2024 are the United States (26.94%), China (18.68%), and Japan (8.03%).

Special UN programs, like UNICEF and the World Food Programme, get money from voluntary donations. These come from governments, companies, and individuals.

How Well Does the UN Do?

UN peacekeeping missions are generally seen as successful. A study by Virginia Page Fortna found that UN-led efforts often lead to long-term peace.

Scientists Hanne Fjelde, Lisa Hultman, and Desiree Nilsson studied peacekeeping missions for twenty years. They found that UN missions were better at reducing civilian deaths than other operations.

Professor Lise Howard believes UN peacekeeping works well. She says it focuses on talking, offering money, and using non-military force. These methods are more likely to change how fighting groups behave.

British historian Paul Kennedy says the UN has had some big problems. But he believes it has brought great benefits to people now and in the future.

In 2012, French President François Hollande said France trusts the UN. He noted that no single country, no matter how strong, can solve all global problems. France wants the UN to be the center for global decisions. American President Dwight D. Eisenhower said in 1953 that the UN is "man's best organized hope" for solving problems through discussion instead of war.

Jacques Fomerand, a political science professor, says the UN's achievements over 60 years are impressive. He notes that human development has greatly improved. He believes the UN and its groups have helped make the world a better place for millions.

Reviewing the UN's first 50 years, author Stanley Meisler wrote that the UN didn't meet all its founders' hopes. But it still achieved a lot. He pointed to its role in decolonization and many successful peacekeeping efforts.

Awards and Recognition

Many UN groups and individuals have won the Nobel Peace Prize. This is for their important work. Two Secretaries-General, Dag Hammarskjöld and Kofi Annan, won the prize. Other winners include Ralph Bunche, a UN negotiator, and René Cassin, who helped write the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Lester B. Pearson won for organizing the first UN peacekeeping force during the Suez Crisis.

UNICEF won the prize in 1965. The International Labour Organization won in 1969. The UN Peacekeeping Forces won in 1988. The International Atomic Energy Agency won in 2005. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons won in 2013. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees won twice, in 1954 and 1981. The UN as a whole won the prize in 2001, sharing it with Kofi Annan. In 2007, the IPCC won for its work on climate change.

Model United Nations: Learning About the UN

The United Nations has inspired an activity called Model United Nations (MUN). MUN is like a game where students pretend to be UN delegates. They discuss important world issues and follow UN rules. High school and university students organize conferences for MUN. They learn about the UN's work around the world. Many famous people have participated in MUN, including former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.

The UN's Own Song

In 1971, for the UN's 26th anniversary, a "Hymn to the United Nations" was played. Pablo Casals performed the music. The words were written by the poet W. H. Auden.

UN Secretary-General U Thant asked Casals to create a hymn about peace. He hoped it would be based on the UN Charter's introduction. Casals then asked Auden to write the poem. Auden finished it in three days. The song is for a choir and orchestra and takes about seven minutes to play. However, it was never meant to be the UN's official anthem.

See also

In Spanish: Organización de las Naciones Unidas para niños