Enlargement of the United Nations
As of 17 October 2018, there are 193 member states of the United Nations (UN), each of which is a member of the United Nations General Assembly.[1]
The following is a list of United Nations member states arranged in chronological order according to their dates of admission (with the United Nations Security Council resolutions that recommended their admission and the United Nations General Assembly resolutions that admitted them, signified with SCR and GAR, respectively),[2] including former members. Members denoted with "→" changed their names, had their memberships in the UN continued by a successor state, merged with other members, or were dissolved.
Timeline of Enlargement of the United Nations
1940s
1945 (original members)
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 (China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and a majority of the other signatories.[3] 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.[4]
- 24 October 1945
Argentina - Belarus (seat held by the
Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic → renamed to Belarus in 1991) Brazil Chile - China (seat held by the
Republic of China) (until 1949, Republic of China on Taiwan) → China (seat transferred to the People's Republic of China) (Resolution 2758)[H] Cuba → Communist Cuba Czechoslovakia (seat held by Third Czechoslovak Republic → Czechoslovak Socialist Republic → Czech and Slovak Federative Republic) → dissolved (current UN members that formerly comprised Czechoslovakia: Czech Republic and Slovakia)[F] Denmark Dominican Republic Egypt → United Arab Republic (period when merged with Syria) [A] → Arab Republic of Egypt El Salvador - France (seat held by the
Provisional Government of the French Republic → became the French Fourth Republic → reconstituted as the French Fifth Republic in 1958) Haiti Iran → Islamic Republic of Iran Lebanon Luxembourg New Zealand Nicaragua Paraguay Commonwealth of the Philippines → Third Republic of the Philippines → Philippines under Martial Law → Fourth Republic of the Philippines → Fifth Republic of the Philippines Poland (Provisional Government of National Unity) → Republic of Poland → Polish People's Republic → Third Polish Republic Saudi Arabia / / Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics} → Russian Federation (successor state) Syria → United Arab Republic (period when merged with Egypt) [A] → Syrian Arab Republic Turkey - Ukraine (seat held by the
Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic → renamed to Ukraine in 1991) United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland United States of America Democratic Federal Yugoslavia → Federal People's Republic of Yugoslavia → Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia → dissolved (would-be successor state Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was de facto suspended from the United Nations by SCR 777 and GAR 47/1; current UN members that formerly comprised Yugoslavia: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia[G])
- 25 October 1945
- 30 October 1945
- 31 October 1945
- 1 November 1945
- 2 November 1945
- 5 November 1945
- 7 November 1945
- 9 November 1945
Canada, Dominion of → Canada
- 13 November 1945
Ethiopia (Ethiopian Empire) → Derg → People's Democratic Republic of Ethiopia → Transitional Government of Ethiopia → Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia Panama
- 14 November 1945
- 15 November 1945
- 21 November 1945
- 27 November 1945
- 10 December 1945
- 17 December 1945
- 18 December 1945
- 21 December 1945
- 27 December 1945
1946
- 19 November 1946
Afghanistan, Kingdom of (SCR 8, GAR 34) → Republic of Afghanistan → / / Democratic Republic of Afghanistan → Islamic State of Afghanistan → Islamic Republic of Afghanistan Iceland (SCR 8, GAR 34) Sweden (SCR 8, GAR 34)
- 16 December 1946
1947
- 30 September 1947
Pakistan (SCR 29, GAR 108) North Yemen (SCR 29, GAR 108) → Yemen (unified state after merging with South Yemen)[D]
1948
- 19 April 1948
Union of Burma (SCR 45, GAR 188) → Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma → Union of Myanmar → Myanmar
1949
- 11 May 1949
1950s
1950
- 28 September 1950
1955
- 14 December 1955
(all by SCR 109 and GAR 995)
Albania → Republic of Albania Austria Bulgaria → Republic of Bulgaria Cambodia → Khmer Republic → Cambodia → Democratic Kampuchea → Cambodia Ceylon → Sri Lanka Finland Hungary (application addressed in 1947 by SCR 24) → Hungary Ireland Italy (application addressed in 1947 by SCR 25) Jordan Laos → Lao People's Democratic Republic Libya → Libyan Arab Republic → Libyan Arab Jamahiriya → Libya Nepal → Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal Portugal Romania (Romanian People's Republic) → Socialist Republic of Romania → Romania Spain → Kingdom of Spain
1956
- 12 November 1956
Sudan (SCR 112, GAR 1110) → Republic of the Sudan Morocco (SCR 115, GAR 1111) Tunisia (SCR 116, GAR 1112)
- 18 December 1956
1957
- 8 March 1957
- 17 September 1957
Federation of Malaya (SCR 125, GAR 1134) → Malaysia
1958
- 22 February 1958
Egypt and Syria merge to become the United Arab Republic[A]
- 12 December 1958
1960s
1960
- 20 September 1960
Cameroun (SCR 133, GAR 1476) → Cameroon → United Republic of Cameroon → Cameroon Togo (SCR 136, GAR 1477) Madagascar (SCR 140, GAR 1478) Somalia (SCR 141, GAR 1479) - Congo (Léopoldville) (SCR 142, GAR 1480) →
Zaire → Democratic Republic of the Congo Dahomey (SCR 147, GAR 1481) → Benin Niger (SCR 148, GAR 1482) Upper Volta (SCR 149, GAR 1483) → Burkina Faso Ivory Coast (SCR 150, GAR 1484) → Côte d'Ivoire Chad (SCR 151, GAR 1485) Congo (Brazzaville) (SCR 152, GAR 1486) → People's Republic of the Congo → Republic of the Congo Gabon (SCR 153, GAR 1487) Central African Republic (SCR 154, GAR 1488) → Central African Empire → Central African Republic Cyprus (SCR 155, GAR 1489)
- 28 September 1960
- 7 October 1960
1961
- 27 September 1961
Sierra Leone (SCR 165, GAR 1623)
- 27 October 1961
Mongolian People's Republic (SCR 166, GAR 1630) → Mongolia Mauritania (SCR 167, GAR 1631)
- 14 December 1961
Tanganyika (SCR 170, GAR 1667) → United Republic of Tanzania (after merging with Zanzibar)[B]
1962
- 18 September 1962
Rwanda (SCR 172, GAR 1748) Burundi (SCR 173, GAR 1749) Jamaica (SCR 174, GAR 1750) Trinidad and Tobago (SCR 175, GAR 1751)
- 8 October 1962
- 25 October 1962
1963
- 14 May 1963
Kuwait (GAR 1872)
- 16 December 1963
Zanzibar (SCR 184, GAR 1975) → merged with Tanganyika (now United Republic of Tanzania)[B] Kenya (SCR 185, GAR 1976)
1964
- 1 December 1964
1965
- 20 January 1965
- 21 September 1965
1966
- 20 September 1966
- 28 September 1966
- 17 October 1966
- 9 December 1966
1967
- 14 December 1967
South Yemen (SCR 243, GAR 2310) → merged with North Yemen (now unified state of Yemen)[D]
1968
- 24 April 1968
- 24 September 1968
- 12 November 1968
Equatorial Guinea (SCR 260, GAR 2384)
1970s
1970
- 13 October 1970
1971
- 21 September 1971
- 7 October 1971
- 25 October 1971
- China's seat at the United Nations transferred from the Republic of China to the People's Republic of China. (GAR 2758)[H]
- 9 December 1971
United Arab Emirates (SCR 304, GAR 2794)
1973
- 18 September 1973
Federal Republic of Germany (SCR 335, GAR 3050) → Germany (unified state after accession of German Democratic Republic)[E] German Democratic Republic (SCR 335, GAR 3050) → acceded to Federal Republic of Germany (now unified state of Germany)[E] The Bahamas (SCR 336, GAR 3051)
1974
- 17 September 1974
Bangladesh (SCR 351, GAR 3203) Grenada (SCR 352, GAR 3204) Guinea-Bissau (SCR 356, GAR 3205)
1975
- 16 September 1975
Cape Verde (SCR 372, GAR 3363) São Tomé and Príncipe (SCR 373, GAR 3364) People's Republic of Mozambique (SCR 374, GAR 3365) → Mozambique
- 10 October 1975
Papua New Guinea (SCR 375, GAR 3368)
- 12 November 1975
Comoros, State of (SCR 376, GAR 3385) → Federal and Islamic Republic of Comoros → Union of the Comoros
- 4 December 1975
1976
- 21 September 1976
Seychelles (SCR 394, GAR 31/1)
- 1 December 1976
People's Republic of Angola (SCR 397, GAR 31/44) → Republic of Angola
- 15 December 1976
Western Samoa (SCR 399, GAR 31/104) → Samoa
1977
- 20 September 1977
1978
- 19 September 1978
Solomon Islands (SCR 433, GAR 33/1)
- 18 December 1978
1979
- 18 September 1979
Saint Lucia (SCR 453, GAR 34/1)
1980s
1980
- 25 August 1980
- 16 September 1980
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SCR 464, GAR 35/1)
1981
- 15 September 1981
- 25 September 1981
- 11 November 1981
Antigua and Barbuda (SCR 492, GAR 36/26)
1983
- 23 September 1983
Saint Kitts and Nevis (SCR 537, GAR 38/1)
1984
- 21 September 1984
Brunei Darussalam (SCR 548, GAR 39/1)
1990s
1990
- 23 April 1990
- 18 September 1990
Liechtenstein (SCR 663, GAR 45/1)
1991
- 24 August 1991
Ukraine Ukraine independence from the Soviet Union
- 17 September 1991
North Korea (SCR 702, GAR 46/1) South Korea (SCR 702, GAR 46/1) Federated States of Micronesia (SCR 703, GAR 46/2) Marshall Islands (SCR 704, GAR 46/3) Belarus Belarus independence from the Soviet Union Estonia (SCR 709, GAR 46/4) Latvia (SCR 710, GAR 46/5) Lithuania (SCR 711, GAR 46/6)
1992
- 2 March 1992
Kazakhstan (SCR 732, GAR 46/224) Armenia (SCR 735, GAR 46/227) Kyrgyzstan (SCR 736, GAR 46/225) Uzbekistan (SCR 737, GAR 46/226) Tajikistan (SCR 738, GAR 46/228) Moldova (SCR 739, GAR 46/223) Turkmenistan (SCR 741, GAR 46/229) Azerbaijan (SCR 742, GAR 46/230) San Marino (SCR 744, GAR 46/231)
- 22 May 1992
Croatia (SCR 753, GAR 46/238) Slovenia (SCR 754, GAR 46/236) Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina (SCR 755, GAR 46/237) → Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 31 July 1992
1993
- 19 January 1993
Slovakia (SCR 800, GAR 47/222) Czech Republic (SCR 801, GAR 47/221)
- 8 April 1993
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (provisional reference) (SCR 817, GAR 47/225)
- 28 May 1993
- 28 July 1993
1994
- 15 December 1994
1999
- 14 September 1999
2000s
2000
- 5 September 2000
- 1 November 2000
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (SCR 1326, GAR 55/12) → Serbia and Montenegro → Serbia (successor state)
2002
- 10 September 2002
Switzerland (SCR 1426, GAR 57/1)
- 27 September 2002
East Timor (SCR 1414, GAR 57/3)
2006
- 28 June 2006
Montenegro (SCR 1691, GAR 60/264)
2010s
2011
- 14 July 2011
South Sudan (SCR 1999, GAR 65/308)
Summary
Below is a summary of the growth in UN membership.[5]
Year | # of admissions | # of members |
---|---|---|
1945 | 51 | 51 |
1946 | 4 | 55 |
1947 | 2 | 57 |
1948 | 1 | 58 |
1949 | 1 | 59 |
1950 | 1 | 60 |
1951–1954 | 0 | 60 |
1955 | 16 | 76 |
1956 | 4 | 80 |
1957 | 2 | 82 |
1958 | 1 | [A] | 82
1959 | 0 | 82 |
1960 | 17 | 99 |
1961 | 4 | [A] | 104
1962 | 6 | 110 |
1963 | 3 | 113 |
1964 | 3 | [B] | 115
1965 | 3 | [C] | 117
1966 | 4 | [C] | 122
1967 | 1 | 123 |
1968 | 3 | 126 |
1969 | 0 | 126 |
1970 | 1 | 127 |
1971 | 5 | 132 |
1972 | 0 | 132 |
1973 | 3 | 135 |
1974 | 3 | 138 |
1975 | 6 | 144 |
1976 | 3 | 147 |
1977 | 2 | 149 |
1978 | 2 | 151 |
1979 | 1 | 152 |
1980 | 2 | 154 |
1981 | 3 | 157 |
1982 | 0 | 157 |
1983 | 1 | 158 |
1984 | 1 | 159 |
1985–1989 | 0 | 159 |
1990 | 2 | [D][E] | 159
1991 | 7 | 166 |
1992 | 13 | 179 |
1993 | 6 | [F] | 184
1994 | 1 | 185 |
1995–1998 | 0 | 185 |
1999 | 3 | 188 |
2000 | 2 | [G] | 189
2001 | 0 | 189 |
2002 | 2 | 191 |
2003–2005 | 0 | 191 |
2006 | 1 | 192 |
2007–2010 | 0 | 192 |
2011 | 1 | 193 |
2012–present | 0 | 193 |
See also
- Enlargement of the African Union and enlargement of the European Union
- Holy See of Vatican City and State of Palestine in the Palestinian territories, the two UN observer states
- Sovereign Military Order of Malta
- Abkhazia, Republic of Artsakh, the Republic of China on Taiwan, Kosovo, Northern Cyprus, Somaliland, South Ossetia, Transnistria, and Western Sahara's Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic
- List of sovereign states
- Member states of the United Nations
Notes
- ^ a b c d e Egypt and Syria merged to form the United Arab Republic on 22 February 1958. They resumed as separate UN members on 13 October 1961 after Syria resumed its status as an independent state.
- ^ a b c Tanganyika and Zanzibar merged to form the United Republic of Tanganyika and Zanzibar on 26 April 1964, which later changed its name to the United Republic of Tanzania.
- ^ a b c d e Indonesia temporarily withdrew from the UN on 20 January 1965. 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 rejoin the UN on 28 September 1966.
- ^ a b c Yemen and Democratic Yemen merged on 22 May 1990, see Yemeni unification for details.
- ^ a b c The German Democratic Republic acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany on 3 October 1990, see German reunification for details.
- ^ a b Czechoslovakia ceased to be a UN member on 1 January 1993 after its dissolution into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, see Dissolution of Czechoslovakia for details.
- ^ a b Yugoslavia (referring to the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia), effectively dissolved by 1992, was removed from the official roster of UN members in 2000 following the admission of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Slovenia, Macedonia, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (name later changed to Serbia and Montenegro) as new UN members. For details see Breakup of Yugoslavia and Yugoslav Wars.
- ^ a b c China, officially known then as the Republic of China was a founding member of the UN in 1945. However, in 1949, the Republic of China government led by the Kuomintang (KMT) lost the Chinese Civil War to the Communist Party of China (CPC) and set up a provisional capital in Taipei. The CPC established the People's Republic. As such, the political status of the ROC and the legal status of Taiwan (alongside the territories currently under ROC jurisdiction) are in dispute. In 1971, the United Nations gave the China seat to the PRC instead of the ROC. See China and the United Nations for details.
References
- ↑ "What are Member States?". United Nations.
- ↑ "Current Member States". United Nations.
- ↑ "History of the United Nations". United Nations.
- ↑ "Founding Member States". United Nations.
- ↑ "Growth in United Nations membership, 1945–present". United Nations. Archived from the original on 12 July 2014.