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.

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.

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).