As the United Nations celebrates its 80th anniversary, it finds itself grappling with a significant budget shortfall that poses a serious threat to its financial stability.
This situation is exacerbated by the United States – the largest funder and debtor of the UN – reevaluating its relationship with the organization.
Recently, the U.S. withdrew from several key UN agencies, such as the World Health Organization and the Human Rights Council, and has plans to exit UNESCO by the end of next year.
In mid-July, Congress passed a rescissions package from the Trump administration, which cut approximately $1 billion from previously approved UN funding.
With future cuts potentially on the horizon, the administration’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2026 suggests an end to UN peacekeeping payments while pausing most other contributions.
In response to this financial crisis, the UN has started to limit program spending, freeze hiring, and implement a long-term efficiency initiative.
Moreover, it has tapped into its reserve accounts five times since July 2019, borrowing a staggering $607 million in 2024 alone.
The financial viability of the UN remains heavily contingent upon the U.S.’s future support.
To better understand how the UN funding operates and clarify the organization’s financial status, the Pew Research Center has offered insights into various aspects of the UN’s budget and contributions.
The UN is fundamentally funded by its 193 member states through mandatory assessed contributions.
These contributions are divided into two main budgets: the regular budget, which finances core activities, and the peacekeeping operations budget that covers most peacekeeping missions and several service centers globally.
The regular budget pertains to each calendar year, whereas the peacekeeping budget covers a fiscal year from July 1 to June 30.
In addition to these assessed contributions, the UN also manages numerous funds and programs, such as the World Food Program and UNICEF, that solely rely on voluntary contributions from member states.
Each member country’s contribution varies based on its relative capacity to pay, taking into account factors like gross national income, population size, and external debt to establish the ‘scale of assessments.’
This scale ranges between 0.001% of the budget to a maximum of 22%.
Countries classified as the least developed are capped at 0.01%.
The peacekeeping budget follows a similar assessment system but is adjusted so that the permanent members of the Security Council shoulder a larger share of the costs.
The U.S., as the largest economy, has always been assessed at the maximum rate, bearing 22% of the regular budget.
In 2025, the U.S. was responsible for $820.4 million of the $3.5 billion net total for the UN’s regular budget.
China followed with a contribution of 20.004% ($679.8 million), while Japan came in third at 6.930% ($235.5 million).
Meanwhile, 175 of the 193 member states are each responsible for less than 1% of the UN’s regular budget, including 28 states assessed at the minimum rate of 0.001%.
For the UN peacekeeping budget in 2025, the U.S. was assessed at the highest rate of 26.158%, contributing $6.5 million of the total $25 million budget.
China and Japan account for the next-largest shares, at 23.785% ($5.9 million) and 6.930% ($1.7 million), respectively.
Over time, the structure of these dues has seen significant fluctuations.
For states that have been UN members since 2000, 116 out of 189 have experienced increased assessment rates.
Countries like Vietnam, China, and Guyana have seen the most substantial increases, whereas the rates remained unchanged for 33 members and decreased for 40.
Historically, the United States’ regular budget assessment rate was much higher during the early years of the UN.
In the late 1940s, the U.S. was assessed at a rate of 39.890%.
From 1974 until 2001, the rate was 25% before being lowered to 22%, which has remained the case since.
China, which has now emerged as the world’s second-largest economy, started with an assessment rate of around 6%.
This rate fell in the 1950s and stayed under 1% for much of the ’80s and ’90s, but it has climbed significantly in recent years, sitting at 20.004% today.
Promptness in dues payment has been a persistent issue for the UN, particularly highlighted by the U.S.’s payment practices.
Contributions are due within 30 days of receiving an assessment notice from the UN Secretary-General, typically around early February for the regular budget.
Historically, no more than 53 of the 193 member states have made their regular budget contributions on time since 2019.
Moreover, the UN has never received full contributions from all member states in the past two decades.
Member states may withhold regular budget contributions for various reasons, including financial constraints, differences between national and UN fiscal calendars, or political objections.
Generally, the greatest number of members make their payments within the first few months of the year, with a small increase in September, and contributions otherwise trickling in throughout the year.
The U.S. typically defers a portion of its contribution to the following fiscal year, which begins in October; this practice has been ongoing since the 1980s.
According to the latest detailed data from the UN, by April 30, 92 member states had not paid their full contributions for the regular budget in 2025.
Among those with outstanding dues, the U.S. leads with a total of $1.5 billion, followed by China ($597 million), Russia ($72 million), Saudi Arabia ($42 million), Mexico ($38 million), and Venezuela ($38 million).
April 30 marked the sixth year since 2015 that the U.S. has reported unpaid regular budget assessments exceeding $1 billion.
As previously noted, this situation is partly attributed to Congress capping peacekeeping spending at 25% since the mid-1990s, even as the UN assesses the U.S. share of that budget at a higher rate.
In peacekeeping contributions, the U.S. also has an outstanding balance of $1.5 billion, with China, Russia, and Venezuela following with arrears of $587 million, $123 million, and $93 million, respectively.
Any unpaid dues carried past January 1 into the following fiscal year become classified as ‘arrears.’
If a member’s arrears meet or surpass the total owed from contributions over the prior two years, it risks losing its voting rights in the General Assembly.
Currently, members like Afghanistan, Bolivia, Sao Tome and Principe, and Venezuela fulfill these conditions.
However, the General Assembly has allowed Sao Tome and Principe to retain its voting rights, recognizing that its inability to pay is due to circumstances beyond its control.
Public perception of the UN among Americans offers another layer to this complex situation.
A recent Pew Research Center survey indicates that 63% of Americans believe the U.S. benefits from UN membership, which represents a slight increase since the previous spring.
However, opinions vary significantly along party lines.
Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents are nearly twice as likely to consider the country benefits from UN membership compared to Republicans and GOP leaners (82% versus 43%).
Conversely, a majority of Republicans (56%) believe the U.S. does not gain much from UN membership, with 65% of conservative Republicans expressing this sentiment.
More broadly, the survey reflects a favorable view of the UN among 57% of U.S. adults, marking a 5-point increase since last spring.
While Democrats show a growing positive outlook of the UN, Republicans’ views remain statistically unchanged.
As the UN enters its 80th year amidst financial challenges and shifting U.S. commitments, the future of international cooperation and funding remains uncertain.
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