As depicted in Figure 7, the UN system is funded by a diverse set of partners: governments, multilateral partners, and other non-state funding. In addition, some funding originates from activities not linkable to a contributor (eg foreign exchange gains). Governments are the primary source of funding for the UN system. In 2022, 72.4% of funding came directly from governments, with an additional 17.0% from multilateral funding, which is predominantly supported by governments. Although the share of government funding remained stable compared to the previous year, there was a 2% shift in the composition of funding between OECD-DAC members and non-OECD-DAC members. In terms of volume, government contributions rose from US$ 48.5 billion in 2021 to US$ 53.8 billion in 2022, with US$ 44.2 billion of this coming from OECD-DAC members.
Funding sources for the UN system, 2022
Key insights in a flash
Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB).
Revenue from Member States
Every UN Member State is required to contribute to the organisation’s budget through assessed contributions. The overall level of this mandatory funding is determined by Member States through negotiation and agreements concerning the UN’s regular and peacekeeping budgets, as well as budgets for specific UN programmes and entities. Additionally, many governments make voluntary untied contributions to specific UN entities or voluntary contributions tied to a specific programme or project.
Funding to the UN remains highly concentrated, with the top ten Member States contributing 53% of total UN system revenue in 2022. Figure 8 illustrates how the distribution of total UN system revenue among contributors has evolved since 2010. The United States has maintained its position as the largest contributor to the UN throughout the period, providing around 20% of total funding. In 2022, the United States increased its funding to the UN system by US$ 5.6 billion, reaching an all-time high of US$ 18.1 billion.
Revenue provided by non-Member State contributors grew from US$ 10.7 billion to US$ 20.5 billion over the same period, partly due to increased contributions from the European Union (EU) and other multilateral sources.
Delving deeper into the data, Figure 9 illustrates the top ten Member States’ funding to the UN system in 2022, encompassing both contributions reported by UN entities to the CEB and those provided through inter-agency pooled funds. The top ten Member State contributors have remained largely consistent since 2015, the year in which China – the only non-OECD-DAC country among them – emerged as part of the group. Additionally, Figure 9’s right-hand side axis measures what proportion of a country’s GNI the contribution makes up, with Norway providing the highest funding to the UN system relative to its GNI (0.27%), followed by Sweden (0.23%) and the Netherlands (0.2%).
More than 70% of the US$ 18.1 billion in funding provided by the United States to the UN system in 2022 went to four entities: WFP (40%), UNHCR (12%), UNICEF (10%) and UN-DPO (10%). Canada entered the top five contributors in 2022, with 23% of the country’s funding directed towards the WFP. Further down the table, the Netherlands re-entered the top ten in seventh place, with 20% of its funding going to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA). Compared to 2021, Sweden exhibits the most movement, dropping from third to tenth. This shift arises from the full revenue recognition in 2021 of multi-year agreements with UN entities totalling around US$ 2.2 billion for the period 2022–2025.
UN system funding by Member States and other contributors, 2010-2022 (US$ billion)
Key insights in a flash
Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB).
Revenue from multilateral channels
The UN system is funded by a diverse set of multilateral institutions, including the EU and international financial institutions (IFIs), and through global vertical funds and UN inter-agency pooled funds.
Most of the funding for multilateral institutions comes from governments: the EU is fully funded by EU Member States, and IFIs are generally funded by national governments. For instance, the World Bank is funded by member contributions and by issuing bonds, while the International Monetary Fund (IMF) is funded by member quotas and multilateral and bilateral borrowing agreements. Inter-agency pooled funds were 93% funded by governments in 2022. Moreover, global vertical funds – such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (Global Fund), and Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance – receive much of their funding from governments.
Central to the EU’s external policy is a commitment to effective multilateralism, with the UN at its core.11 The two organisations are the world’s leading proponents of a multilateral system founded on universal rules and values, able to respond successfully to global crises, threats and challenges. The EU, an inter-governmental institution with supranational functions, has enhanced observer status in the UN. Over the past decade, EU cooperation with the UN has grown in importance, with EU contributions to the UN Secretariat and the various UN agencies, funds and programmes spanning all policy areas. Given its legal and structural framework as a political and economic union of member countries, however, the EU itself rarely contributes assessed or voluntary core contributions to the UN. While the EU has enhanced observer status at the UN, it is not a full member.
Top 10 Member State contributors to the UN system, 2022 (US$ billion and percentage share of GNI)
Key insights in a flash
Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB), UN Pooled Funds Database, and UN Statistics Division (UNSD).
Figure 10 shows the evolution of EU funding to the UN system, including resources provided through inter-agency pooled funds, from 2010 to 2022, along with a breakdown of 2022 funding per UN entity. Contributions grew from US$ 0.7 billion in 2010 to US$ 3.7 billion in 2022, having reached an all-time high in 2020 (US$ 4.6 billion) due to the COVID-19 response. The EU is one of the main fun- ding partners for inter-agency pooled funds, providing US$ 206 million in 2022 – equivalent to 6% of the EU’s total contributions to the UN system.
The EU allocates its UN funding almost entirely to humanitarian and development assistance. The WFP, IOM, and UNICEF received 43% of total EU funding in 2022. Shifts in EU funding largely reflect changing humanitarian funding needs arising from current and anticipated crises. For instance, in 2022, of the US$ 268 million the EU contributed to Ukraine, more than 70% was channelled through UN entities.12 Contributions to the Spotlight Initiative Fund, a UN inter-agency pooled fund established in 2017 for the elimination of violence against women and girls, has been a driving factor behind the EU’s increased engagement in inter-agency pooled funds.
Vertical funds are development financing mechanisms focused on a particular issue or theme. According to the World Bank’s definition, they are ‘partnerships and related initiatives whose benefits are intended to cut across more than one region of the world and in which the partners: (1) reach explicit agreement on objectives; (2) agree to establish a new (formal or informal) organisation; (3) generate new products or services; and (4) contribute dedicated resources to the programme’.13 Although vertical funds are not directly administered by a UN entity and the UN does not play a lead role in fund allocations, UN entities receive resources from these global funds as implementers.
International financial institutions are another multilateral channel through which the UN system receives funding. IFIs are constantly seeking to leverage new sources of financing and require implementing partners capable of keeping pace with the increasing scale and complexity posed by overlapping global challenges. As such, UN entities have partnered with IFIs to deliver global public goods, build national capacity, and catalyse private finance.14 Direct financial flows from IFIs to the UN system are limited, despite the 2022 share of total revenue growing to 3%, equivalent to US$ 2.5 billion. These figures do not, however, fully reflect the level of collaboration between UN entities and IFIs. Such cooperation can take other forms, with the ultimate intention being to mobilise capacity and additional resources for SDG achievement.
Figure 11 illustrates the funding received from IFIs for a selection of UN entities where such revenue plays a significant role. Overall, the World Bank Group is the main contributing partner, alongside several regional and national development banks. IFIs are a key partner for UNICEF when it comes main-streaming child-sensitive planning, budgeting, and prog-ramming. In 2022, UNICEF maintained the most substantial level of IFI engagement of all the UN entities, receiving 8% of its total revenue (US$ 864 million) through these multilateral funding partners. More specifically, the World Bank Group provided the greatest overall IFI contribution (US$ 682 million).15
International Financial Institutions (IFIs) funding to four select UN entities, 2022 (US$ million)
Key insights in a flash
Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB).
The strategic partnership framework (established in 2018) between WFP and the World Bank brings together the latter’s analytical and financial expertise with the former’s strong operational capacity in fighting extreme poverty and hunger.16 In 2022, WPF received almost 4% of its total revenue through IFIs, equivalent to US$ 518 million, of which 59% was channelled by the World Bank.
UNOPS collaborates with IFIs on, among other areas, climate action, resilient infrastructure, resilient health systems, gender equality and building public procurement capacity.17 In 2022, 18% of its fees were funded by IFIs.
In the case of UNDP, partnerships with IFIs are both financial and non-financial, involving collaboration, capacity development and project implementation aimed at supporting government efforts towards sustainable, inclusive growth. In 2022, UNDP continued to strengthen its collaborations with IFIs in order to help governments leverage the financing needed to achieve the SDGs and address the socioeconomic challenges brought about by the COVID pandemic and other crises.18 Of the US$ 215 million of revenue channelled by IFIs, 84% came from the World Bank.
Revenue from non-state actors
Non-state actors, such as the private sector, foundations, and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), represent a smaller but growing source of UN funding, with the share of funding from such contributors increasing from 5% in 2018 to 8% in 2022.
Figure 12 shows total revenue volumes from non-state actors to the UN system in recent years, revealing an average annual growth rate of 21.3% between 2018 (US$ 2.8 billion) and 2022 (US$ 6.1 billion). This is largely related to revenue from foundations and the private sector, in particular UNICEF’s ability to raise funds from the latter source and the rapid growth in UNHCR’s revenue from both sources.
Most UN entities receive only a limited share of non-state resources, with UNICEF, UNHCR, WFP and the World Health Organization (WHO) the exceptions. Figure 12 also shows a breakdown of non-state revenue directed at these four UN entities. Here, UNICEF, which relies entirely on voluntary contributions, stands out, with 26% of its total resources generated from the private sector – equivalent to over US$ 2.7 billion in 2022. UNICEF has 33 National Committees (independent local NGOs) that not only promote children’s rights but fundraise core and earmarked contributions from individuals and enterprises.
Private sector donations and foundations are also an important income stream for UNHCR, which received 20% of its revenue through these sources in 2022. WFP has increased its revenues from non-state actors in recent years, receiving 3.5% of its total 2022 revenue from the private sector and foundations. Finally, WHO sources most of its non-state income from foundations, with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation contributing US$ 396 million in 2022 (9% of its total revenues).
Funding from non-state actors to the UN system, 2018-2022 (US$ billion)
Key insights in a flash
Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB).
Endnotes
This commitment is enshrined in Article 21 of the Treaty on European Union: ‘The Union’s action on the inter- national scene shall be guided by the principles which have inspired its own creation, development and enlargement, and which it seeks to advance in the wider world: democracy, the rule of law, the universality and indivisibility of human rights and fundamental freedoms, respect for human dignity, the principles of equality and solidarity, and respect for the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law.’
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Devel-opment (OECD) Creditor Reporting System (CRS) Aid Activity database. ODA gross disbursements at constant 2022 prices. https://data-explorer.oecd.org/.
World Bank, ‘Addressing the Challenges of Globalization: An Independent Evaluation of the World Bank’s Approach to Global Programs’, (Washington DC: World Bank, 2004),
p. 2, https://ieg.worldbankgroup.org/sites/default/files/Data/reports/gppp_ma….
UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), ‘Update to the Executive Board of UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS on UNOPS Engagement with International Financial Institutions’, https://content.unops.org/documents/libraries/executive- board/documents-for-sessions/2023/first-regular- session/joint-segment-item-2-update-on-undp-unf-pa-and-unops-engagement-with-the-international-fi-nancial-institutions/en/Update-on-UNOPS-engage-ment-with-international-financial-institutions.pdf.
If is important to note that the information presented in this section regarding IFI funding to the UN is based on the information UN entities reported to the CEB, following IPSAS, and does not align with other management publications, such as the funding com pendiums. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), ‘Funding Compendium 2022’, p. 25, www.unicef.org/sites/default/files/2023-07/UNICEF_FundingCompen dium2022_FINAL_WEB.pdf.
World Bank, ‘World Bank and World Food Programme map out joint strategy for tackling humanitarian and development challenges’, 14 March 2018, www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2018/03/14/world-bank-and-world….
UN Development Programme (UNDP), ‘Funding Compendium 2022’, p. 26, www.undp.org/sites/g/files/zskgke326/files/2023-08/undp_funding_compend….