Is UN membership mandatory? What are the benefits?

How you get in

Membership is open to all peace-loving states that accept the obligations in the UN Charter and, in the judgment of the organization, are able to carry them out. No country is compelled to apply. A state seeking membership submits an application to the UN Secretary-General accepting the obligations under the Charter. The Security Council then considers the application and votes on whether to recommend admission to the UN General Assembly, which must approve by a two-thirds majority of members present and voting. That two-stage process means any one of the five permanent members can kill an application at the Security Council stage with a veto.

There are currently 193 member states; the most recently admitted was South Sudan in 2011. The system is effectively frozen, and countries not in the UN have no realistic path to membership unless the geopolitical calculus of one of the P5 changes dramatically.

What membership actually gives you

Admission to the UN puts to bed any doubts about a nation's existence as a state once and for all, which matters enormously for a newly independent country that wants the world to take it seriously. Beyond recognition, the practical gains stack up fast.

UN members each hold a seat on the General Assembly with an equal vote regardless of population or economy. The General Assembly controls the UN budget and elects member states to other major UN bodies such as the Economic and Social Council, the Human Rights Council, and the Security Council.

The amount each member must pay annually varies based on its relative capacity to pay, using a formula that accounts for gross national income, population size, and external debt. Smaller economies pay very little: the smallest members contribute under $30,000 per year.

The UN also operates many funds and programs, such as the World Food Program and UNICEF (the United Nations Children's Fund), that are financed through voluntary contributions from member states. Access to those resources, and to UN-administered development assistance, comes with the seat.

Who stays out and why

The UN recognizes two non-member observer states: the Holy See and the State of Palestine. Observer states may attend General Assembly meetings, deliver formal statements, and maintain permanent observer missions at UN headquarters in New York, but they cannot vote on General Assembly resolutions.

The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church seated in Vatican City, is the instructive case. It is the only widely recognized sovereign state that has voluntarily chosen not to apply for full UN membership. The reasoning is strategic: full membership would require the Vatican to vote on political and military matters, which the Catholic Church prefers to avoid.

Kosovo is recognized by over 100 UN member states but is not a UN member because Russia and China, both permanent Security Council members with veto power, refuse to recognize it. Palestine's full membership has been blocked by the same veto mechanism, and Taiwan has not been considered for re-admission since its 1971 expulsion.

United States outside the UN cannot vote on General Assembly resolutions, are not party to most multilateral treaty negotiations conducted at UN headquarters, and have difficulty accessing UN-administered development assistance. That is the cost of being left out, and it is why almost every country on earth is knocking on the door rather than walking away from it.