member states of the United Nations (UN), states that have been admitted into the United Nations (UN).
The UN is an international organization that was established in 1945. Following its predecessor, the League of Nations (1920–46), it was the second multipurpose international organization to be established in the 20th century that was worldwide in both scope and membership. The organization’s first members were admitted upon its founding, while the most recent member to be admitted was South Sudan after it became independent in 2011. In addition to member states, there are two permanent nonmember observer missions—one representing the Holy See and the other representing Palestine (Palestinian Authority).
The table provides a list of the UN’s 193 member states and the year in which each was admitted.
| United Nations membership | |
|---|---|
| 1The seat held by the U.S.S.R. was assumed by Russia in 1991. | |
| 2The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was a member from 1945 until its dissolution following the establishment and admission of the new member states of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia (1992), Macedonia (1993), and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (2000), the last reconstituted as Serbia and Montenegro in 2003. In 2006 Serbia and Montenegro split into separate countries. | |
| 3North Yemen (capital at Sanaa) merged in 1990 with South Yemen (capital at Aden). Upon unification, there was one membership. | |
| 4Tanganyika merged in 1964 with Zanzibar. The country's name after the merger became Tanzania, with a single UN membership. | |
| 5East Germany and West Germany were admitted as separate members in 1973. Upon unification of the two countries in 1990, there was one membership. | |
| 6Czechoslovakia, a member from 1945, split into two countries, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, in 1993. | |
| 1945 | Argentina, Australia, Belarus (Belorussia), Belgium, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, India, Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Liberia, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Russia (U.S.S.R.)1, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yugoslavia2 |
| 1946 | Afghanistan, Iceland, Sweden, Thailand |
| 1947 | Pakistan, Yemen3 |
| 1948 | Myanmar (Burma) |
| 1949 | Israel |
| 1950 | Indonesia |
| 1955 | Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Nepal, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sri Lanka (Ceylon) |
| 1956 | Japan, Morocco, Sudan, Tunisia |
| 1957 | Ghana, Malaysia |
| 1958 | Guinea |
| 1960 | Benin (Dahomey), Burkina Faso (Upper Volta), Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo (capital at Brazzaville), Congo (Zaire; capital at Kinshasa), Côte d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast), Cyprus, Gabon, Madagascar, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Somalia, Togo |
| 1961 | Mauritania, Mongolia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania4 |
| 1962 | Algeria, Burundi, Jamaica, Rwanda, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda |
| 1963 | Kenya, Kuwait |
| 1964 | Malawi, Malta, Zambia |
| 1965 | The Gambia, Maldives, Singapore |
| 1966 | Barbados, Botswana, Guyana, Lesotho |
| 1968 | Equatorial Guinea, Mauritius, Swaziland |
| 1970 | Fiji |
| 1971 | Bahrain, Bhutan, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates |
| 1973 | The Bahamas, Germany5 |
| 1974 | Bangladesh, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau |
| 1975 | Cape Verde, Comoros, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, Sao Tome and Principe, Suriname |
| 1976 | Angola, Samoa, Seychelles |
| 1977 | Djibouti, Vietnam |
| 1978 | Dominica, Solomon Islands |
| 1979 | Saint Lucia |
| 1980 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Zimbabwe |
| 1981 | Antigua and Barbuda, Belize, Vanuatu |
| 1983 | Saint Kitts and Nevis |
| 1984 | Brunei |
| 1990 | Liechtenstein, Namibia |
| 1991 | Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, North Korea, South Korea |
| 1992 | Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina2, Croatia2, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, San Marino, Slovenia2, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan |
| 1993 | Andorra, Czech Republic6, Eritrea, Macedonia, Monaco, Slovakia6 |
| 1994 | Palau |
| 1999 | Kiribati, Nauru, Tonga |
| 2000 | Tuvalu |
| 2002 | East Timor, Switzerland |
| 2006 | Montenegro, Serbia2 |
| 2011 | South Sudan |