United Nations structures
191 states - almost all the states of the world - are members of the United Nations. Member states are represented in the UN by their governments.
Read more: United Nations organs
The Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) is the primary coordinating organ of the United Nations (UN). It serves as an important link between the political level of the General Assembly and the development activities of the institutions mentioned here. It conducts studies, drafts reports and makes recommendations on issues of sustainable development.
Read more: United Nations development cooperation institutions
The current contributions scale, valid for 2007-2009, was adopted by the UN General Assembly in December 2006. The three largest contributors to the United Nations, the US (22% of the UN budget), Japan (16.624%) and Germany (8.577%) thus finance over half of the entire UN budget.
Read more: Contributions to the United Nations budget
