THE UNITED NATIONS - The UN is tasked with tackling many urgent issues of global importance, from humanitarian crises to peacekeeping operations and the climate crisis. This all comes at a cost, but not as much as you might think. With the 2024 budget recently approved, we crunch the numbers.
Just before Christmas, the 193 Member States that make up the UN General Assembly signed off a $3.59 billion budget to cover the expenses of the UN Secretariat in 2024. That’s a lot of money but, as UN Deputy Spokesperson Farhan Haq explained to UN News, there’s plenty of bang for each buck spent.

Farhan Haq: When you add up the regular UN Secretariat and peacekeeping budgets, the annual average cost of the UN for each person on the planet is about $1.25; that’s about the cost of a bag of chips in New York.

Aside from the U.N. Secretariat, the United Nations also comprises a vast range of agencies, funds, programmes and peacekeeping missions to deal with all kinds of issues, which are funded separately, and which are not included in the $3.59 billion budget.

At the high end you have agencies such as the World Food Programme, the refugee agency (UNHCR) and the children’s fund (UNICEF), which have budgets in the billions of dollars. Smaller agencies deal with, for example, maritime affairs, world tourism or civil aviation, and have budgets set accordingly. Member States join and pay dues for these agencies on a voluntary basis.