The United
Nations member states are the 193 sovereign states that are members of the
United Nations (UN) and have equal representation in the UN General Assembly.
The UN is the world's largest intergovernmental organization. The criteria for
admission of new members to the UN are set out in Chapter II, Article 4 of the
UN Charter:
1.
Membership
in the United Nations is open to all 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.
2.
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.
A
recommendation for admission from the Security Council requires affirmative
votes from at least nine of the council's fifteen members, with none of the
five permanents members using their veto power. The Security Council's
recommendation must then be approved in the General Assembly by a two-thirds
majority vote.
In principle,
only sovereign states can become UN members and currently all UN members are
sovereign states. Although five members were not sovereign when they joined the
UN, all subsequently became fully independent between 1946 and 1991. Because a
state can only be admitted to membership in the UN by the approval of the
Security Council and the General Assembly, a number of states that are
considered sovereign according to the Montevideo Convention are not members of
the UN. This is because the UN does not consider them to possess sovereignty,
mainly due to the lack of international recognition or due to opposition from
one of the permanent members.
In addition
to the member states, the UN also invites non-member states to become observers
at the UN General Assembly (currently two: the Holy See and Palestine),
allowing them to participate and speak in General Assembly meetings, but not
vote. Observers are generally intergovernmental organizations and international
organizations and entities whose statehood or sovereignty is not precisely
defined.
Original member
The UN
officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, after ratification of the
United Nations Charter by the five permanent members of the United Nations
Security Council (the Republic of China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and
the United States) and a majority of the other signatories. A total of 51 original
members (or founding members) joined that year; 50 of them signed the
Charter at the United Nations Conference on International Organization in San Francisco
on 26 June 1945, while Poland, which was not represented at the
conference, signed it on 15 October 1945.
The original
members of the United Nations were: France, Republic of China, Soviet Union,
United Kingdom, United States, Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil,
Byelorussia, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia,
Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Greece,
Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, Luxembourg,
Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines,
Poland, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, Venezuela
and Yugoslavia.
Among the
original members, 49 are either still UN members or had their memberships in
the UN continued by a successor state; for example, the membership of the
Soviet Union was continued by the Russian Federation after its dissolution. The
other two original members, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia (i.e., the Socialist
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), had been dissolved and their memberships in
the UN not continued from 1992 by any one successor state.
At the time
of UN's founding, the seat of China in the UN was held by the Republic of
China, but as a result of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 in
1971, it is now held by the People's Republic of China.
A number of
the original members were not sovereign when they joined the UN, and only gained
full independence later:
1.
Belarus
(then the Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic) and Ukraine (then the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic) were both constituent republics of the
Soviet Union, until gaining full independence in 1991.
2.
India
(whose territory at that time, before the Partition of India, also included the
present-day territories of Pakistan and Bangladesh) was under British colonial
rule, until gaining full independence in 1947.
3.
The
Philippines (then the Philippine Commonwealth) was a commonwealth with the
United States, until gaining full independence in 1946.
4.
New
Zealand, while de facto sovereign at that time, "only gained full capacity
to enter into relations with other states in 1947 when it passed the Statute of
Westminster Adoption Act. This occurred 16 years after the British Parliament
passed the Statute of Westminster Act in 1931 that recognized New Zealand's
autonomy. If judged by the Montevideo Convention criteria, New Zealand did not
achieve full de jure statehood until 1947."
Current member
The current
members and their dates of admission are listed below with their official
designations used by the United Nations. The alphabetical order by the member
states' official designations is used to determine the seating arrangement of
the General Assembly sessions, where a draw is held each year to select a
member state as the starting point. Several members use their full official
names in their official designations and thus are sorted out of order from
their common names: the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, the Republic of Korea, the Republic of Moldova, The
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (a provisional reference used for all
purposes within the UN, and listed under T), and the United Republic of
Tanzania.
Original
members are listed with Red.
No
|
Member
state
|
Date of
admission
|
--
|
001
|
19 November 1946
|
United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan
|
|
002
|
Albania
|
14 December 1955
|
|
003
|
Algeria
|
08 October 1962
|
|
004
|
Andorra
|
28 July 1993
|
|
005
|
Angola
|
1 December 1976
|
|
006
|
Antigua and Barbuda
|
11 November 1981
|
|
007
|
Argentina
|
24 October 1945
|
|
008
|
Armenia
|
2 March 1992
|
Former member: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
|
009
|
Australia
|
1 November 1945
|
Australia and the United Nations
|
010
|
Austria
|
14 December 1955
|
|
011
|
Azerbaijan
|
2 March 1992
|
Former member: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
|
012
|
Bahamas
|
18 September 1973
|
|
013
|
Bahrain
|
21 September 1971
|
|
014
|
Bangladesh
|
17 September 1974
|
|
015
|
Barbados
|
9 December 1966
|
|
016
|
Belarus
|
24 October 1945
|
Former member: Byelorussian Soviet Socialist
Republic
|
017
|
Belgium
|
27 December 1945
|
|
018
|
Belize
|
25 September 1981
|
|
019
|
Benin
|
20 September 1960
|
|
020
|
Bhutan
|
21 September 1971
|
|
021
|
Plurinational State of Bolivia
|
14 November 1945
|
|
022
|
Bosnia and Herzegovina
|
22 May 1992
|
Former member: Yugoslavia
|
023
|
Botswana
|
17 October 1966
|
|
024
|
Brazil
|
24 October 1945
|
Brazil and the United Nations
|
025
|
Brunei Darussalam
|
21 September 1984
|
|
026
|
Bulgaria
|
14 December 1955
|
|
027
|
Burkina Faso
|
20 September 1960
|
|
028
|
Burundi
|
18 September 1962
|
|
029
|
Cabo Verde
|
16 September 1975
|
|
030
|
Cambodia
|
14 December 1955
|
|
031
|
Cameroon
|
20 September 1960
|
|
032
|
Canada
|
09 November 1945
|
Canada and the United Nations
|
033
|
Central African Republic
|
20 September 1960
|
|
034
|
Chad
|
20 September 1960
|
|
035
|
Chile
|
24 October 1945
|
|
036
|
China
|
24 October 1945
|
Former member: Republic of China and China
and the United Nations
|
037
|
Colombia
|
05 November 1945
|
|
038
|
Comoros
|
12 November 1975
|
|
039
|
Congo
|
20 September 1960
|
|
040
|
Costa Rica
|
02 November 1945
|
|
041
|
Côte d'Ivoire
|
20 September 1960
|
|
042
|
Croatia
|
22 May 1992
|
Former member: Yugoslavia
|
043
|
Cuba
|
24 October 1945
|
|
044
|
Cyprus
|
20 September 1960
|
|
045
|
Czech Republic
|
19 January 1993
|
Former member: Czechoslovakia
|
046
|
Democratic People's Republic of Korea
|
17 September 1991
|
Korea and the United Nations
|
047
|
Democratic Republic of the Congo
|
20 September 1960
|
|
048
|
Denmark
|
24 October 1945
|
|
049
|
Djibouti
|
20 September 1977
|
|
050
|
Dominica
|
18 December 1978
|
|
051
|
Dominican Republic
|
24 October 1945
|
|
052
|
Ecuador
|
21 December 1945
|
|
053
|
Egypt
|
24 October 1945
|
Former member: United Arab Republic
|
054
|
El Salvador
|
24 October 1945
|
|
055
|
Equatorial Guinea
|
12 November 1968
|
|
056
|
Eritrea
|
28 May 1993
|
|
057
|
Estonia
|
17 September 1991
|
Former member: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
|
058
|
Eswatini (the Kingdom of)
|
24 September 1968
|
|
059
|
Ethiopia
|
13 November 1945
|
|
060
|
Fiji
|
13 October 1970
|
Fiji and the United Nations
|
061
|
Finland
|
14 December 1955
|
|
062
|
France
|
24 October 1945
|
France and the United Nations
|
063
|
Gabon
|
20 September 1960
|
|
064
|
Republic of The Gambia
|
21 September 1965
|
|
065
|
Georgia
|
31 July 1992
|
Former member: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
|
066
|
Germany
|
18 September 1973
|
Former member: German Democratic Republic and Germany and the United
Nations
|
067
|
Ghana
|
08 March 1957
|
|
068
|
Greece
|
25 October 1945
|
|
069
|
Grenada
|
17 September 1974
|
|
070
|
Guatemala
|
21 November 1945
|
|
071
|
Guinea
|
12 December 1958
|
|
072
|
Guinea-Bissau
|
17 September 1974
|
|
073
|
Guyana
|
20 September 1966
|
|
074
|
Haiti
|
24 October 1945
|
|
075
|
Honduras
|
17 December 1945
|
|
076
|
Hungary
|
14 December 1955
|
|
077
|
Iceland
|
19 November 1946
|
|
078
|
India
|
30 October 1945
|
India and the United Nations
|
079
|
Indonesia
|
28 September 1950
|
Withdrawal of Indonesia (1965–1966) and Indonesia and the United
Nations
|
080
|
Islamic Republic of Iran
|
24 October 1945
|
|
081
|
Iraq
|
21 December 1945
|
|
082
|
Ireland
|
14 December 1955
|
|
083
|
Israel
|
11 May 1949
|
Israel, Palestine, and the United Nations
|
084
|
Italy
|
14 December 1955
|
|
085
|
Jamaica
|
18 September 1962
|
|
086
|
Japan
|
18 December 1956
|
Japan and the United Nations
|
087
|
Jordan
|
14 December 1955
|
|
088
|
Kazakhstan
|
02 March 1992
|
Former member: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
|
089
|
Kenya
|
16 December 1963
|
|
090
|
Kiribati
|
14 September 1999
|
|
091
|
Kuwait
|
14 May 1963
|
|
092
|
Kyrgyzstan
|
02 March 1992
|
Former member: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
|
093
|
Lao People's Democratic Republic
|
14 December 1955
|
|
094
|
Latvia
|
17 September 1991
|
Former member: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
|
095
|
Lebanon
|
24 October 1945
|
|
096
|
Lesotho
|
17 October 1966
|
|
097
|
Liberia
|
02 November 1945
|
|
098
|
Libya
|
14 December 1955
|
|
099
|
Liechtenstein
|
18 September 1990
|
|
100
|
Lithuania
|
17 September 1991
|
Former member: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
|
101
|
Luxembourg
|
24 October 1945
|
Luxembourg and the United Nations
|
102
|
Madagascar
|
20 September 1960
|
|
103
|
Malawi
|
01 December 1964
|
|
104
|
Malaysia
|
17 September 1957
|
Former member: Federation of Malaya and Malaysia and the United
Nations
|
105
|
Maldives
|
21 September 1965
|
|
106
|
Mali
|
28 September 1960
|
|
107
|
Malta
|
01 December 1964
|
|
108
|
Marshall Islands
|
17 September 1991
|
Marshall Islands and the United Nations
|
109
|
Mauritania
|
27 October 1961
|
|
110
|
Mauritius
|
24 April 1968
|
|
111
|
Mexico
|
07 November 1945
|
Mexico and the United Nations
|
112
|
Federated States of Micronesia
|
17 September 1991
|
Federated States of Micronesia and the United Nations
|
113
|
Monaco
|
28 May 1993
|
|
114
|
Mongolia
|
27 October 1961
|
|
115
|
Montenegro
|
28 June 2006
|
Former member: Yugoslavia
|
116
|
Morocco
|
12 November 1956
|
|
117
|
Mozambique
|
16 September 1975
|
|
118
|
Myanmar
|
19 April 1948
|
|
119
|
Namibia
|
23 April 1990
|
|
120
|
Nauru
|
14 September 1999
|
|
121
|
Nepal
|
14 December 1955
|
|
122
|
Netherlands
|
10 December 1945
|
|
123
|
New Zealand
|
24 October 1945
|
New Zealand and the United Nations
|
124
|
Nicaragua
|
24 October 1945
|
|
125
|
Niger
|
20 September 1960
|
|
126
|
Nigeria
|
07 October 1960
|
|
127
|
Norway
|
27 November 1945
|
|
128
|
Oman
|
07 October 1971
|
|
129
|
Pakistan
|
30 September 1947
|
Pakistan and the United Nations
|
130
|
Palau
|
15 December 1994
|
|
131
|
Panama
|
13 November 1945
|
|
132
|
Papua New Guinea
|
10 October 1975
|
|
133
|
Paraguay
|
24 October 1945
|
|
134
|
Peru
|
31 October 1945
|
|
135
|
Philippines
|
24 October 1945
|
Philippines and the United Nations
|
136
|
Poland
|
24 October 1945
|
|
137
|
Portugal
|
14 December 1955
|
|
138
|
Qatar
|
21 September 1971
|
|
139
|
Republic of Korea
|
17 September 1991
|
Korea and the United Nations
|
140
|
Republic of Moldova
|
02 March 1992
|
Former member: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
|
141
|
Romania
|
14 December 1955
|
|
142
|
Russian Federation
|
24 October 1945
|
Former member: Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics and Soviet Union and the United Nations and Russia and the United
Nations
|
143
|
Rwanda
|
18 September 1962
|
|
144
|
Saint Kitts and Nevis
|
23 September 1983
|
|
145
|
Saint Lucia
|
18 September 1979
|
|
146
|
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
|
16 September 1980
|
|
147
|
Samoa
|
15 December 1976
|
|
148
|
San Marino
|
2 March 1992
|
|
149
|
São Tomé and Príncipe
|
16 September 1975
|
|
150
|
Saudi Arabia
|
24 October 1945
|
|
151
|
Senegal
|
28 September 1960
|
|
152
|
Serbia
|
1 November 2000
|
Former member: Yugoslavia and Serbia and the United Nations
|
153
|
Seychelles
|
21 September 1976
|
|
154
|
Sierra Leone
|
27 September 1961
|
|
155
|
Singapore
|
21 September 1965
|
Former member: Malaysia and Singapore and the United Nations
|
156
|
Slovakia
|
19 January 1993
|
Former member: Czechoslovakia
|
157
|
Slovenia
|
22 May 1992
|
Former member: Yugoslavia
|
158
|
Solomon Islands
|
19 September 1978
|
|
159
|
Somalia
|
20 September 1960
|
|
160
|
South Africa
|
07 November 1945
|
|
161
|
South Sudan
|
14 July 2011
|
|
162
|
Spain
|
14 December 1955
|
|
163
|
Sri Lanka
|
14 December 1955
|
|
164
|
Sudan
|
12 November 1956
|
|
165
|
Suriname
|
04 December 1975
|
|
166
|
Sweden
|
19 November 1946
|
|
167
|
Switzerland
|
10 September 2002
|
|
168
|
Syria Arab Republic
|
24 October 1945
|
Former member: United Arab Republic
|
169
|
Tajikistan
|
2 March 1992
|
Former member: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
|
170
|
Thailand
|
16 December 1946
|
|
171
|
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
|
8 April 1993
|
Former member: Yugoslavia
|
172
|
Timor-Leste
|
27 September 2002
|
|
173
|
Togo
|
20 September 1960
|
|
174
|
Tonga
|
14 September 1999
|
|
175
|
Trinidad and Tobago
|
18 September 1962
|
Trinidad and Tobago and the United Nations
|
176
|
Tunisia
|
12 November 1956
|
|
177
|
Turkey
|
24 October 1945
|
|
178
|
Turkmenistan
|
02 March 1992
|
Former member: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
|
179
|
Tuvalu
|
05 September 2000
|
Tuvalu and the United Nations
|
180
|
Uganda
|
25 October 1962
|
|
181
|
Ukraine
|
24 October 1945
|
Former member: Ukrainian Soviet Socialist
Republic
|
182
|
United Arab Emirates
|
09 December 1971
|
|
183
|
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland
|
24 October 1945
|
United Kingdom and the United Nations
|
184
|
United Republic of Tanzania
|
14 December 1961
|
Former member: Tanganyika and Zanzibar
|
185
|
United States of America
|
24 October 1945
|
United States and the United Nations
|
186
|
Uruguay
|
18 December 1945
|
|
187
|
Uzbekistan
|
02 March 1992
|
Former member: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
|
188
|
Vanuatu
|
15 September 1981
|
Vanuatu and the United Nations
|
189
|
Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
|
15 November 1945
|
|
190
|
Vietnam
|
20 September 1977
|
|
191
|
Yemen
|
30 September 1947
|
Former member: Yemen and Democratic Yemen
|
192
|
Zambia
|
01 December 1964
|
|
193
|
Zimbabwe
|
25 August 1980
|
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