List of members of the United Nations Security Council

Permanent members

Country	Regional Group	Member since
China	Asia-Pacific Group	1971, replaced the Republic of China
France	Western European and Others Group	1945
Russia	Eastern European Group	1991, replaced the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
United Kingdom	Western European and Others Group	1945
United States	Western European and Others Group	1945

Non-permanent members

Country	Regional Group	Term began	Term ends
Albania	Eastern European Group (EEG)	2022	2023
Brazil	Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)	2022	2023
Ecuador	Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)	2023	2024
Gabon	African Group	2022	2023
Ghana	African Group	2022	2023
Japan	Asia-Pacific Group	2023	2024
Malta	Western European and Others Group (WEOG)	2023	2024
Mozambique	African Group	2023	2024
Switzerland	Western European and Others Group (WEOG)	2023	2024
United Arab Emirates	Asia-Pacific Group	2022	2023

  African Group

  Asia-Pacific Group

  Eastern European Group

  Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC)

  Western European and Others Group

  UN member not in any voting group

  Observer states

  Non-UN state or territory

• African Group: 3 members
• Asia-Pacific Group:[lower-alpha 1] 2 members
• Eastern European Group (CEIT, or Countries with Economies in Transition): 1 member
• Latin American and Caribbean Group (GRULAC): 2 members
• Western European and Others Group (WEOG): 2 members; at least one of these must be from Western Europe[1]

In addition, one of the non-permanent members of the council is an Arab country, alternately from the African or Asia-Pacific groups. This rule was added to the system in 1967 for it to be applied beginning with 1968.

Each year the UN General Assembly elects five new members for a two-year term; these elections always begin in October of the year, and continue until the two-thirds majority for the number of countries for each region has been reached. Re-election is allowed, but the term must not be consecutive.

Electoral timetable

* The representative of Arab nations alternates between these two elected spaces.

From 1946 to 1965, the security council included six non-permanent members. The regional grouping at that time was:

• Latin America: 2 members
• Commonwealth of Nations: 1 member
• Eastern Europe: 1 member
• Middle East: 1 member
• Western Europe: 1 member

There were some exceptions to this grouping: Liberia took the place of a Western European country in 1961; the Ivory Coast substituted a member of the Commonwealth in 1964–1965; and the Eastern Europe group included Asian countries from 1956.

As part of a proposed expansion of the Security Council, Brazil, Germany, India and Japan, collectively the Group of 4 or G4 nations, are seeking permanent representation on this body. Italy opposed the expansion of the Security Council through the establishment of the group Uniting for Consensus.

This list contains the 138 United Nations member states so far elected to the United Nations Security Council, including the five permanent members, all listed by number of years each country has so far spent on the UNSC. Of all the members, 6 have so far ceased to exist, leaving the list with 132 modern nations. These, combined with the 61 modern nations that have never been elected to the UNSC to date (see Non-members, below), make up the entirety of the 193 current members of the UN.

Years on the Security Council, as of 2023, including current year where relevant :

Years[lower-alpha 8]	Country	First Year	Most Recent Year	Regional Group	Notes
78	France	1945	2023	WEOG	Permanent member
78	United Kingdom	1945	2023	WEOG	Permanent member
78	United States	1945	2023	WEOG	Permanent member
52	People's Republic of China	1971	2023	Asia-Pacific	Permanent member
46	Soviet Union	1945	1991	E. European	Former permanent member, replaced by Russian Federation
32	Russian Federation	1991	2023	E. European	Permanent member
26	Republic of China	1945	1971	Asian	Former permanent member, replaced by People's Republic of China
23	Japan	1958	2023	Asia-Pacific
22	Brazil	1946	2023	GRULAC
18	Argentina	1948	2014	GRULAC
16	India	1950	2022	Asia-Pacific
14	Colombia	1947	2012	GRULAC
14	Pakistan	1952	2013	Asia-Pacific
13	Italy	1959	2017	WEOG
12	Belgium	1947	2020	WEOG
12	Canada	1948	2000	WEOG
12	Germany	1977	2020	WEOG	Includes 4 years when the Federal Republic of Germany consisted only of West Germany (but does not include East Germany's 2 years, listed separately below).
11	Poland	1946	2019	E. European
10	Australia	1946	2014	WEOG
10	Chile	1952	2015	GRULAC
10	Netherlands	1946	2018	WEOG
10	Nigeria	1966	2015	African
10	Norway	1949	2022	WEOG
10	Panama	1958	2008	GRULAC
10	Peru	1955	2019	GRULAC
10	Spain	1969	2016	WEOG
10	Venezuela	1962	2016	GRULAC
9	Egypt	1946	2017	African (Arab)	Excludes 2 years with the seat held in the name of the United Arab Republic, of which for more than 15 months UAR served as the name of modern-day Egypt
9	Mexico	1946	2022	GRULAC
8	Denmark	1953	2006	WEOG
8	Gabon	1978	2023	African
8	Ghana	1962	2023	African
8	Indonesia	1973	2020	Asia-Pacific
8	Sweden	1957	2018	WEOG
8	Ukraine	1948	2017	E. European	Includes 4 years of membership under the name of  Ukrainian SSR; Ukrainian SSR held its own seat in the General Assembly while being part of the Soviet Union during its 46 years of Security Council membership
8	Tunisia	1959	2021	African
7	Ecuador	1950	2023	GRULAC
7	Ireland	1962	2022	WEOG
7	Malaysia	1965	2016	Asia-Pacific
7	New Zealand	1954	2016	WEOG
7	Romania	1962	2005	E. European
7	Turkey	1951	2010	WEOG
7	Yugoslavia	1950	1989	E. European	Predecessor of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, and Slovenia
6	Algeria	1968	2005	African (Arab)
6	Austria	1973	2010	WEOG
6	Bolivia	1964	2018	GRULAC
6	Bulgaria	1966	2003	E. European
6	Costa Rica	1974	2009	GRULAC
6	Cuba	1949	1991	GRULAC
6	Ethiopia	1967	2018	African
6	Ivory Coast	1964	2019	African
6	Jordan	1965	2015	Asia-Pacific (Arab)
6	Kenya	1973	2022	African
6	Morocco	1963	2013	African (Arab)
6	Philippines	1957	2005	Asia-Pacific
6	Portugal	1979	2012	WEOG
6	Senegal	1968	2017	African
6	South Africa	2007	2020	African
6	Syria	1947	2003	Asia-Pacific (Arab)	Excludes one year (1961) during which the United Arab Republic was a member, for the greater part of which Syria was a member of that union
6	Zambia	1969	1988	African
5	Uganda	1966	2010	African
4	Angola	2003	2016	African
4	Bangladesh	1979	2001	Asia-Pacific
4	Benin	1976	2005	African
4	Burkina Faso	1984	2009	African	For first 7 months of membership of the Security council in 1984 was known as Upper Volta.
4	Cameroon	1974	2003	African
4	Finland	1969	1990	WEOG
4	Greece	1952	2006	WEOG
4	Guinea	1972	2003	African
4	Guyana	1975	1983	GRULAC
4	Hungary	1968	1993	E. European
4	Iraq	1957	1975	Asia-Pacific (Arab)
4	Jamaica	1979	2001	GRULAC
4	Kuwait	1978	2019	Asia-Pacific (Arab)
4	Lebanon	1953	2011	Asia-Pacific (Arab)
4	Libya	1976	2009	African (Arab)
4	Mali	1966	2001	African
4	Mauritius	1977	2002	African
4	Nepal	1969	1989	Asia-Pacific
4	Nicaragua	1970	1984	GRULAC
4	Niger	1980	2021	African
4	Republic of the Congo	1986	2007	African
4	South Korea	1996	2014	Asia-Pacific
4	Rwanda	1994	2014	African
4	Tanzania	1975	2006	African
4	Togo	1982	2013	African
4	United Arab Emirates	1986	2023	Asia-Pacific (Arab)
4	Uruguay	1965	2017	GRULAC
4	Vietnam	2008	2021	Asia-Pacific
4	Zaire	1982	1991	African	Now known as Democratic Republic of the Congo
4	Zimbabwe	1983	1992	African
3	Czechoslovakia	1964	1979	E. European	Predecessor of Czech Republic and Slovakia
3	Malta	1983	2023	WEOG
2	Albania	2022	2023	E. European
2	Azerbaijan	2012	2013	E. European	Was part of the Soviet Union during its 45 years of Security Council membership
2	Bahrain	1998	1999	Asia-Pacific (Arab)
2	Bosnia and Herzegovina	2010	2011	E. European	Was also part of the SFR Yugoslavia during its 7 years of Security Council membership
2	Botswana	1995	1996	African
2	Burundi	1970	1971	African
2	Byelorussian SSR	1974	1975	E. European	Now known as Belarus; Byelorussian SSR held its own seat in the General Assembly while being part of the Soviet Union during its 45 years of Security Council membership
2	Cape Verde	1992	1993	African
2	Ceylon	1960	1961	Asia-Pacific	Now known as Sri Lanka
2	Chad	2014	2015	African
2	Croatia	2008	2009	E. European	Was also part of the SFR Yugoslavia during its 7 years of Security Council membership
2	Czech Republic	1994	1995	E. European	Was also part of Czechoslovakia during its 3 years of Security Council membership
2	Djibouti	1993	1994	African
2	Dominican Republic	2019	2020	GRULAC
2	East Germany	1980	1981	E. European	Now subsumed into Germany, which has 5 years of Security Council membership since it has included the former territory of East Germany
2	Estonia	2020	2021	E. European	Part of the Soviet Union from 1944 to 20 August 1991
2	Equatorial Guinea	2018	2019	African
2	Gambia	1998	1999	African
2	Guatemala	2012	2013	GRULAC
2	Guinea-Bissau	1996	1997	African
2	Honduras	1995	1996	GRULAC
2	Iran	1955	1956	Asia-Pacific
2	Kazakhstan	2017	2018	Asia-Pacific	Was part of the Soviet Union from 26 April 1920 to 25 December 1991
2	Lithuania	2014	2015	E. European	Part of the Soviet Union from 3 August 1940 to 11 March 1990
2	Luxembourg	2013	2014	WEOG
2	Madagascar	1985	1986	African
2	Mauritania	1974	1975	African
2	Namibia	1999	2000	African
2	Oman	1994	1995	Asia-Pacific (Arab)
2	Paraguay	1968	1969	GRULAC
2	Qatar	2006	2007	Asia-Pacific (Arab)
2	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	2020	2021	GRULAC	Smallest nation to have held a place on the Security Council.[3]
2	Sierra Leone	1970	1971	African
2	Singapore	2001	2002	Asia-Pacific	Was also part of Malaysia for several months of 1965 during its membership of the Security Council
2	Slovakia	2006	2007	E. European	Was also part of Czechoslovakia during its 3 years of Security Council membership
2	Slovenia	1998	1999	E. European	Was also part of the SFR Yugoslavia during its 7 years of Security Council membership
2	Somalia	1971	1972	African
2	Sudan	1972	1973	African (Arab)
2	Thailand	1985	1986	Asia-Pacific
2	Trinidad and Tobago	1985	1986	GRULAC
2	United Arab Republic	1961	1962	African (Arab)	Union of Syria and Egypt
1	Mozambique	2023	2023	African
1	Switzerland	2023	2023	WEOG
1	Yemen	1990	1991	Asia-Pacific (Arab)	Inherited the seat from South Yemen; served the remaining of the term, for one year and seven months.
1	South Yemen	1990	1990	Asia-Pacific (Arab)	Held the Security Council seat for the first five months of membership, then unified with North Yemen and passed the seat to Yemen.
1	Liberia	1961	1961	African	Served only one year.[lower-alpha 9]

Countries elected to the Council for 2024-25 are:

Algeria (Africa; Arab)

Guyana (Latin America/Caribbean)

Sierra Leone (Africa)

Slovenia (Eastern Europe)

South Korea (Asia)

The following countries have made known their applications for future United Nations Security Council membership:

As of July 2011, there are currently 193 members of the United Nations and five permanent members of the Security Council. The other ten seats are assigned amongst the remaining 188 members. As a result, many members have never been on the Security Council. The following list is a summary of all countries, currently 61 modern nations[23] and three historical ones, that have never been a member of the United Nations Security Council. The three historical UN members listed are Tanganyika, Zanzibar, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Member states of the United Nations that have never been members of the United Nations Security Council as of January 2023.

UN Member state	Regional Group	Security Council membership as part of another entity
Afghanistan	Asia-Pacific
Andorra	WEOG
Antigua and Barbuda	GRULAC	Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1632 to 1 November 1981
Armenia	E. European	Was part of the Soviet Union from 29 November 1920 to 25 December 1991
Bahamas	GRULAC	Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1717 to 10 July 1973
Barbados	GRULAC	Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1625 to 30 November 1966
Belize	GRULAC	Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1862 to 21 September 1981
Bhutan	Asia-Pacific
Brunei	Asia-Pacific	Was a protectorate of the United Kingdom from 1888 to 1984
Cambodia	Asia-Pacific	Was a colony of France from 1863 to 9 November 1953
Central African Republic	African	Was a colony of France from 1894 to 13 August 1960
Comoros	African	Was a colony of France from 1841 to 6 July 1975
Cyprus	Asia-Pacific	Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 5 November 1914 to 16 August 1960
Dominica	GRULAC	Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1783 to 3 November 1978
El Salvador	GRULAC
Eritrea	African	Was under the administration of the United Kingdom from 1941 to 1947, then a United Nations Trust Territory from 1947 to 1952, then part of Ethiopia from 1952 to 24 May 1993
Eswatini	African	Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1902 to 6 September 1968
Fiji	Asia-Pacific	Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1874 to 10 October 1970
Georgia	E. European	Was part of the Soviet Union from 25 February 1921 to 25 December 1991
Grenada	GRULAC	Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1763 to 7 February 1974
Haiti	GRULAC
Iceland	WEOG
Israel	None / WEOG[lower-alpha 10]	Part of a League of Nations mandate under United Kingdom administration from 25 April 1920 to 14 May 1948
Kiribati	Asian / None[lower-alpha 11]	Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1892 to 12 July 1979
North Korea	Asia-Pacific
Kyrgyzstan	Asia-Pacific	Was part of the Soviet Union from 1 February 1926 to 25 December 1991
Laos	Asia-Pacific	Was a colony of France from 1893 to 19 July 1949
Latvia	E. European	Part of the Soviet Union from September 1944 to 21 August 1991
Lesotho	African	Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1884 to 4 October 1966
Liechtenstein	WEOG
Malawi	African	Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1891 to 6 July 1964
Maldives	Asia-Pacific	Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1887 to 26 July 1965
Marshall Islands	Asia-Pacific	Was part of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands under the administration of the United States from 17 July 1947 to 21 October 1986
Federated States of Micronesia	Asia-Pacific	Was part of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands under the administration of the United States from 17 July 1947 to 3 November 1986
Moldova	E. European	Was part of the Soviet Union from 28 June 1940 to 25 December 1991
Monaco	WEOG
Mongolia	Asia-Pacific
Montenegro	E. European	Was part of Yugoslavia from 29 November 1943 to 28 April 1992[lower-alpha 12]
Myanmar	Asia-Pacific	Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1824 to 4 January 1948
Nauru	Asia-Pacific	Was a United Nations Trust Territory administered by the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand from 1 January 1946 to 31 January 1968
North Macedonia	E. European	Was part of Yugoslavia from 29 November 1943 to 3 April 1993
Palau	Asia-Pacific	Was part of the United Nations Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands under the administration of the United States from 17 July 1947 to 1 October 1994
Papua New Guinea	Asia-Pacific	Was administered by Australia in the case of the Territory of Papua from 1905, the Territory of New Guinea as a League of Nations mandate from 1919 and as a unified Territory of Papua and New Guinea from 1949 until 16 September 1975
Saint Kitts and Nevis	GRULAC	Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1713 to 19 September 1983
Saint Lucia	GRULAC	Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1803 to 22 February 1979
Samoa	Asia-Pacific	Was a League of Nations mandate under the administration of New Zealand from 17 December 1920 to 25 January 1947, then a United Nations Trust Territory under the administration of New Zealand from 25 January 1947 to 1 January 1962
San Marino	WEOG
São Tomé and Príncipe	African	Was a colony of Portugal until 12 July 1975
Saudi Arabia	Asia-Pacific	Saudi Arabia was elected in the 2013 election, but declined the seat.[24]
Serbia	E. European	Was part of Yugoslavia from 31 January 1946 to 27 April 1992[lower-alpha 13]
FR Yugoslavia / Serbia and Montenegro	E. European	Was part of Yugoslavia from 29 November 1943 to 27 April 1992
Seychelles	African	Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 29 June 1976
Solomon Islands	Asia-Pacific	Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1893 to 7 July 1978
South Sudan	African	Was part of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, a condominium of the United Kingdom and Egypt until 1 January 1956, then part of Sudan from 1 January 1956 to 9 July 2011
Suriname	GRULAC	Was a colony of the Netherlands from 1667 to 25 November 1975
Tajikistan	Asia-Pacific	Was part of the Soviet Union from 14 October 1924 to 25 December 1991
Tanganyika	Commonwealth Seat	Was a League of Nations mandate under the administration of the United Kingdom from 20 July 1922 to 11 December 1946, then a United Nations Trust Territory under the administration of the United Kingdom until 9 December 1962, then independent until federation with Zanzibar to form Tanzania
Timor-Leste	Asia-Pacific	Was occupied by Indonesia from 7 December 1975 to 31 October 1999
Tonga	Asia-Pacific	Was a protectorate of the United Kingdom from 18 May 1900 to 4 June 1970
Turkmenistan	Asia-Pacific	Was part of the Soviet Union from 13 May 1925 to 8 December 1991
Tuvalu	Asia-Pacific	Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 1892 to 1 October 1978
Uzbekistan	Asia-Pacific	Was part of the Soviet Union from 13 May 1925 to 25 December 1991
Vanuatu	Asia-Pacific	Was a Condominium under joint sovereignty of the United Kingdom and France from 1906 to 30 July 1980
Zanzibar	Commonwealth Seat	Was a colony of the United Kingdom from 27 August 1896 to 10 December 1963, then independent until federation with Tanganyika to form Tanzania on 26 April 1964.

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