Member states of the United Nations

The member states of the United Nations comprise 193 sovereign states. The United Nations (UN) is the world's largest intergovernmental organization. All members have equal representation in the UN General Assembly.[3]

For the League of Nations, see Member states of the League of Nations.

  193 United Nations member states
  2 UN General Assembly observer states (Holy See (Vatican City), State of Palestine)
  2 eligible non-member states (Cook Islands, Niue)[1][2]
  17 non-self-governing territories
  Antarctica (assertion of territorial claims suspended under the Antarctic Treaty System)
A long row of flags
Flags of the member states of the United Nations, in front of the Palace of Nations (Geneva, Switzerland). Since 2015, the flags of the two observer states are raised alongside those of the 193 member states.

The United Nations charter defines the rules for admission of member states. Membership is open to all peace-loving states which accept certain terms of the charter and are able to carry them out. New members must be recommended by the United Nations Security Council. In addition to the member states, the UN also invites non-member states to be observer states at the UN General Assembly.

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