United Nations member states

   

There are currently 191 member states in the United Nations.

Seat of China

Main article: China and the United Nations

The Republic of China was one of the five original founders of the UN in 1945. However, at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the Kuomintang-controlled ROC government fled to Taiwan, with the Communist government of the newly declared People's Republic of China taking control of most of the country. Representatives of the Nationalist government continued to represent China at the UN, though it was often alleged that this was somewhat unfair, given the size of the ROC's jurisdiction of Taiwan (and other outlying islands) compared to the PRC's juridiction of mainland China. In October 1971, Resolution 2758 was passed by the General Assembly, effectively expelling the ROC from all UN organs and replacing the China seat on the Security Council with the PRC. Multiple attempts by the Republic of China to re-join the UN, no longer to represent "China" as a whole but the "twenty-three million people of Taiwan," have not made it past committee.

Observer States

In addition to the member states discussed above, there is also a non-member observer state: the Holy See (Vatican City State), which maintains a permanent observer mission at the UN headquarters. The Vatican is the smallest sovereign country in the world.

Some international organizations or entities, such as the Palestinian Authority and Sovereign Military Order of Malta, have a similar observer status but not as "non-member states"; see UN General Assembly for a list.

External links


ar:الدول الاعضاء في الامم المتحدة fr:Liste des États membres de l'ONU no:FNs medlemsland zh:联合国成员国列表

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