Since its inception in 1945, the U.S. has been the UN’s largest financial contributor. As a permanent member of the Security Council and host of UN headquarters in New York City, the U.S. holds significant clout at the UN, and its leadership in providing financial support to the organization is a reflection of that influential role.
U.S. Funding for the UN
Why should the U.S. pay its UN dues in full?
Strong and consistent U.S. engagement with the UN is critical to advancing our nation’s foreign policy, national security, economic, and humanitarian priorities on a number of fronts.
From peacekeeping missions that promote stability in various parts of the world, to its work on issues as varied as nonproliferation, counterterrorism, human rights, and development, the UN is a force-multiplier for the U.S., addressing global challenges that—due to their complexity and cost—the U.S. can’t possibly be expected to confront alone.

What is the UN’s funding structure?
Funding from Member States for the UN system comes from two main sources: assessed and voluntary contributions.
Assessed contributions are payments that all UN Member States are required to make. These assessments provide a reliable source of funding to core functions of the UN Secretariat via the UN regular and peacekeeping budgets. In addition, the UN’s specialized agencies have their own assessed budgets.
Voluntary contributions are not obligatory, but instead left to the discretion of individual Member States. These contributions are vital to the work of the UN’s humanitarian and development agencies—including the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), World Food Programme (WFP), UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), and UN Population Fund (UNFPA), among others—which do not have assessed budgets.
Recent funding levels for the UN
ACCT. | FY'20 OMNIBUS | FY'21 OMNIBUS | FY’22 PRES. REQUEST | FY'22 HOUSE SFOPS | FY'22 SENATE SFOPS | FY'22 OMNIBUS | FY'23 PRES. REQUEST | FY'23 BWC RECS. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
CIPA | $1,526,383 | $2,701,032 | $1,928,614 | $1,928,614 | $1,828,614 | $1,498,614 | $2,327,235 | $2,577,814 |
CIO | $1,526,383 | $2,701,032 | $1,662,928 | $1,662,928 | $1,662,928 | $1,662,928 | $1,658,239 | $1,658,239 |
PKO | $1,526,383 | $2,701,032 | $469,459 | $460,759 | $465,459 | $455,000 | $465,559 | $553,000 |
More UN Funding

UN Scales of Assessment: Explaining the UN Budget Formula in 9 Questions
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The Case for Paying UN Arrears
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