UN Membership

This page in the UN Membership research guide provides links to information for all 193 current UN Member States. 

There are currently 193 UN Member States. Each of the Member States of the United Nations has one seat in the General Assembly.

Information about current members, growth of membership since 1945, and the procedure of how a country becomes a member is available on the UN website. Documents by and about members can be found in the UN Digital Library and other sources. 

UN website links

Founding Member State   

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-09-24

Founding Member State    

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-11-01

Founding Member State*

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-10-24

*The Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic was a Founding Member of the UN. On 19 September 1991, Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic informed the UN that it had changed its name to Belarus.

Founding Member State    

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-12-27

Formerly: Dahomey until 2 December 1975.

Founding Member State*

• Charter signature 1945-06-26   
• Charter ratification 1945-11-14

*Formerly Bolivia until 2009-04-09

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was a Founding Member of the UN until its dissolution, following the establishment and subsequent admission as new Members of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia.

Founding Member State

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-09-21

Formerly: Upper Volta until 4 August 1984.

Formerly Cape Verde until 24 October 2013.

Formerly: Cambodia until 28 December 1970; Khmer Republic until 30 April 1975; Cambodia until 6 April 1976; Democratic Kampuchea until 3 February 1990.

Formerly: Cameroon until 10 March 1975; United Republic of Cameroon until 4 February 1984.

Founding Member State    

• Charter signature 1945-06-26    
• Charter ratification 1945-11-09

Formerly: Central African Empire from 20 December 1976 to 20 September 1979.

Founding Member State 

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-10-11

Founding Member State and permanent member of UN Security Council 

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-09-28

Founding Member State    

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-11-05

Formerly: People's Republic of the Congo until 15 November 1971.

Founding Member State

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-11-02

Formerly Ivory Coast until 31 December 1985.

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was a Founding Member of the UN until its dissolution, following the establishment and subsequent admission as new Members of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia.

Founding Member State 

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-10-15

Czechoslovakia was a Founding Member of the UN until its dissolution on 31 December 1992, following the establishment and subsequent admission as new Members, of Czechia and Slovakia. Short name changed from Czech Republic to Czechia, per note verbale 121/2016 of 17 May 2016. Formal name remains Czech Republic.

Formerly: Democratic Republic of the Congo until 27 October 1971; Zaire until 16 May 1997.

Founding Member State  

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-10-09
   

Founding Member State  

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-09-04

Founding Member State    

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-12-21

Founding Member State*

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-10-22

*Egypt merged with the Syrian Arab Republic on 22 Feb. 1958 to form the United Arab Republic. It retained this name when the Syrian Arab Republic left the union on 27 Sept. 1961 and changed its name to the Arab Republic of Egypt on 2 September 1971.

Founding Member State  

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-09-26

Formerly : Swaziland until 19 April 2018.

Founding Member State

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-11-13

Formerly: Republic of the Fiji Islands until 19 January 2011.

Founding Member State and permanent member of UN Security Council 

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-08-31

Through accession of the German Democratic Republic to the Federal Republic of Germany with effect from 3 October 1990, the two German States unified to form one sovereign State. As from the date of unification, the Federal Republic of Germany acts in the United Nations under the designation Germany.

Founding Member State 

• Charter signature 1945-06-26 
• Charter ratification 1945-10-25

Founding Member State

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-11-21

Founding Member State  

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-09-27

Founding Member State

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-12-17

Founding Member State  

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-10-30

Founding Member State*

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-10-16

*By a communication received on 4 November 1982, the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran notified the Secretary-General that the designation Iran (Islamic Republic of) should be used.

Founding Member State

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-12-21

Formerly: Laos until 22 December 1975.

Founding Member State

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-10-15

Founding Member State

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-11-02

from 16 September 2011. Formerly: the Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and Libyan Arab Jamahiriya (the)

Founding Member State  

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-10-17

Formerly: Federation of Malaya until 16 Sept. 1963.

Formerly: Maldive Islands until 14 April 1969.

Founding Member State

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-11-07

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was an original Member of the UN until its dissolution, following the establishment and subsequent admission as new Members of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia. Montenegro declared itself independent of Serbia on 3 June 2006.

Formerly: Burma until 17 June 1989; Union of Myanmar until 30 March 2011

Founding Member State*

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-12-10

Formerly, Netherlands until 3 Mar. 2023.

Founding Member State

• Charter signature 1945-06-26  
• Charter ratification 1945-09-19

Founding Member State    

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-09-06

Formerly: The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia until 14 Feb 2019.  The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was an original Member of the UN until its dissolution, following the establishment and subsequent admission as new Members of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia.

Founding Member State

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-11-27

Founding Member State 

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-11-13

As of 4 March 2013 the official name changed to Independent State of Papua New Guinea

Founding Member State    

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-10-12

Founding Member State    

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-11-31

Founding Member State    

• Charter signature 1945-06-26    
• Charter ratification 1945-11-11

Founding Member State 

• Charter signature 1945-11-15
• Charter ratification 1945-11-24

Formerly: Moldova until 10 September 2008

Founding Member State* and permanent member of UN Security Council

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-11-24

*The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was a Founding Member of the United Nations. The Russian Federation continues, as of 24 Dec. 1991, the membership of the former USSR in the United Nations.

Formerly Saint Christopher and Nevis until 28 December 1986.

Founding Member State

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-11-18

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was an original Member of the UN until its dissolution, following the establishment and subsequent admission as new Members of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia.

Czechoslovakia was a Founding Member of the United Nations until its dissolution on 31 December 1992, following the establishment and subsequent admission as new Members, of Czechia and Slovakia. 

The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was an original Member of the UN until its dissolution, following the establishment and subsequent admission as new Members of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia.

Founding Member State    

• Charter signature 1945-06-26    
• Charter ratification 1945-11-07

Formerly: Union of South Africa until 31 May 1961.

Formerly Ceylon until 29 August 1972.

Formerly: Surinam until 23 January 1978.

Founding Member State*

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-11-19

*Egypt merged with the Syrian Arab Republic to form the United Arab Republic from 22 Feb. 1958 until 27 Sept. 1961; Syria resumed its separate membership in the United Nations on 13 October 1961.

Founding Member State*

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-19-28

*Formerly Turkey until 26 May 2022.

Founding Member State*

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-11-24

*The Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic was a Founding Member of the UN. On 24 August 1991, Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic informed the UN that it had changed its name to Ukraine.

Founding Member State and permanent member of the UN Security Council

• Charter signature 1945-06-26
• Charter ratification 1945-10-20

Following the ratification, on 26 Apr. 1964, of the Articles of Union between Tanganyika and Zanzibar, the two States have been represented in the Organization as a single Member, the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar, which changed its name to the United Republic of Tanzania on 1 Nov. 1964.

Founding Member State and permanent member of UN Security Council

• Charter signature 1945-06-26    
• Charter ratification 1945-08-08

Founding Member State    

• Charter signature 1945-06-26 
• Charter ratification 1945-12-18

Founding Member State*

• Charter signature 1945-06-26 
• Charter ratification 1945-11-15

*Formerly Venezuela until 17-Nov-2004.

On 22 May 1990, the two countries, the Yemen Arab Republic and the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen, merged and have since been represented as one Member State with the name Yemen.