What Were The Original United Nations Member Countries?
In 1945, representatives of 50 countries met in San Francisco to draw up the United Nations Charter. The Organization officially came into existence on 24 October 1945, with a core group of countries signing up to it straight away.
What does the United Nations Do?
The purposes of the United Nations are to...
- maintain international peace and security;
- develop friendly relations among nations;
- cooperate in solving international economic, social, cultural and humanitarian problems
- promote respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms;
- be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in attaining these objectives
.
The number of member countries has changed since the beginnings of the UN, with more countries joining, and some older ones leaving as they have been broken up to form newer countries. To see the current membership visit our UN Member Countries page
This list shows all the original member countries.
| Country or State | Date of Joining the United Nations |
 Argentina
|
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Australia |
01 Nov. 1945 |
 Austria |
14 Dec. 1955 |
 Belgium |
27 Dec. 1945 |
 Bolivia |
14 Nov. 1945 |
 Brazil |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Belarus (formerly Byelorussia) |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Canada |
09 Nov. 1945 |
 Chile |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 China |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Colombia |
05 Nov. 1945 |
 Cuba |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Czech Republic (note 2) |
19 Jan. 1993 |
 Denmark |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Dominican Republic |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Ecuador |
21 Dec. 1945 |
 Egypt (note 4) |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 El Salvador |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Ethiopia |
13 Nov. 1945 |
 France |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Greece |
25 Oct. 1945 |
 Guatemala |
21 Nov. 1945 |
 Haiti |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Honduras |
17 Dec. 1945 |
 India |
30 Oct. 1945 |
 Iran (Islamic Republic of) |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Iraq |
21 Dec. 1945 |
 Lebanon |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Liberia |
02 Nov. 1945 |
 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya |
14 Dec. 1955 |
 Luxembourg |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Mexico |
07 Nov. 1945 |
 Netherlands |
10 Dec. 1945 |
 New Zealand |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Nicaragua |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Norway |
27 Nov. 1945 |
 Panama |
13 Nov. 1945 |
 Paraguay |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Peru |
31 Oct. 1945 |
 Philippines |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Poland |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Portugal |
14 Dec. 1955 |
 Russian Federation |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Saudi Arabia |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 South Africa |
07 Nov. 1945 |
 Syrian Arab Republic |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Turkey |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Ukraine |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 United Kingdom of Great Britain & Northern Ireland |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 United States of America |
24 Oct. 1945 |
 Uruguay |
18 Dec. 1945 |
 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) |
15 Nov. 1945 |
Source: UN Press Release ORG/1360/Rev.1 (10 February 2004)
