List of members of the United Nations Economic and Social Council

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The United Nations Economic and Social Council has 54 member states which are elected by the United Nations General Assembly for three-year terms, with terms ending on 31 December of the third year. Terms are staggered so that 18 members are elected each year. Seats on the Council are based on the United Nations Regional Groups, with fourteen seats allocated to the African Group, eleven to the Asia-Pacific Group, six to the Eastern European Group, ten to the Latin American and Caribbean Group, and thirteen to the Western European and Others Group.[1][2]

Unlike the UN Security Council, outgoing members are eligible for immediate re-election. Like the Security Council, getting elected to a seat requires a two-thirds majority vote, so it is possible for two candidates to deadlock with approximately half the vote each, needing negotiations to resolve.

Membership (1946–1965)[edit]

The original UN Charter stated that the Economic and Social Council consisted of 18 seats.

De facto permanent[edit]

The UN General Assembly agreed in 1946 that the Security Council's permanent five should be given de facto permanent ECOSOC seats. The Republic of China kept its seat renewed until 1961, when it failed to get a two-thirds majority vote for re-election.[3]

To prevent the permanent members from occupying 5 out of 6 seats up for election in one year, the permanent five agreed to stagger their terms by English alphabetical order. The Republic of China and France received 3-year initial terms (renewed in 1949, 1952, etc.), the United Kingdom and Soviet Union received 2-year initial terms (renewed in 1948, 1951, etc.), and the United States received a 1-year initial term (renewed in 1947, 1950, etc.).[4]

Year De facto permanent seats
1946–1965  France  Soviet Union  United Kingdom  United States

Non-permanent[edit]

Unlike the Security Council, there was no specific agreement between the superpowers on how many ECOSOC seats would go to each of the then-informal United Nations Regional Groups. Instead, seat arrangements came from "unwritten rules" and "habits" that eventually stabilized into a pattern documented after the fact. For example:[3][5]

  • The first election, for the 1946 term, ended up electing three members from Eastern Europe. However, Yugoslavia and New Zealand had deadlocked on one of the seats until New Zealand withdrew. When Yugoslavia's term ended, New Zealand was elected in its place; that seat effectively became a Commonwealth seat going forward. Meanwhile, the 'original' Commonwealth seat that went to Canada in 1946 eventually became a Middle Eastern seat, so this change did not increase the number of Commonwealth seats long-term.
  • One of the Western European seats went to a Scandinavian country and another to a Benelux country, with one exception per seat after the pattern broke.
  • Due to being a pattern instead of an agreement or rule, deviations sometimes occurred without comment. For example, at the end of 1947, Czechoslovakia's outgoing seat was contested by both Poland and Iran, but no member of the General Assembly made any complaint about Eastern Europe being potentially deprived of a seat.[6] Deviations from the pattern that were successfully elected are highlighted with a star below.
  • As candidates do not run for a specific seat, the arrangement of columns is slightly arbitrary. For example, at the end of 1952, the terms of Czechoslovakia, Iran, and Pakistan were ending, with India and Turkey elected in their place. The last seat deadlocked for thirteen rounds between Czechoslovakia, Pakistan, and Yugoslavia, with Yugoslavia finally obtaining a two-thirds majority. Had Pakistan won re-election instead, Turkey may have ended up placed in the Eastern European column for the 1953 term (similar to it doing so on the Security Council).[3][7][8]
Year Latin American seats Eastern European seats Common­wealth seat Middle East / "Near and Far East"[a][b] Western European seats[c] Chinese seat
1946  Chile  Peru  Cuba  Colombia Czecho­slovakia Ukrainian SSR  Yugoslavia*  Canada*  Lebanon  India  Norway  Belgium  Greece  Republic of China
1947  Venezuela  Byelorussian SSR  New Zealand  Netherlands[d]  Turkey
1948  Brazil  Poland  Australia*  Denmark
1949  India  Belgium  Republic of China (Taiwan)
1950  Mexico Czecho­slovakia  Canada  Iran  Pakistan*
1951  Uruguay  Philippines  Sweden
1952  Argentina  Cuba  Egypt
1953  Venezuela  Yugoslavia  Australia  India  Turkey
1954  Ecuador Czecho­slovakia  Pakistan  Norway
1955  Dominican Republic  Netherlands
1956  Brazil  Canada  Indonesia  Greece
1957  Mexico  Poland  Finland
1958  Chile  Costa Rica  Sudan[e]
1959  Venezuela  Bulgaria  New Zealand  Afghanistan  Spain
1960  Brazil  Japan  Denmark
1961  El Salvador  Uruguay  Jordan  Italy  Ethiopia*
1962  Colombia  Yugoslavia  Australia  India  Senegal*
1963  Argentina Czecho­slovakia  Austria
1964  Chile  Ecuador  Iraq  Luxembourg  Algeria*
1965  Peru  Romania  Canada  Pakistan  Gabon*
  1. ^ Various nonstandard, inconsistent names, including also "Near and Middle East", were used before Africa and Asia became Regional Groups. Sources published after the introduction of the Regional Groups retroactively name this group "Asia-Africa" or similar, but this name was not used at the creation of ECOSOC.[9][3][5]
  2. ^ In October 1947, India proposed the creation of a group named "Australasia and the Far East", which would match the third seat if including South Asia, but the proposal was not taken up.[3]
  3. ^ The third seat has also been called a "Near and Middle East" seat, with Spain as the exception instead of Pakistan.[9]
  4. ^ Belgium was elected to receive a 3-year term starting in 1946. However, as Greece's 1-year term was ending, Turkey and the Netherlands deadlocked as successor candidates. The deadlock was resolved when Belgium agreed to give the remaining 2 years of its term to the Netherlands.
  5. ^ Considered part of the Middle East due to being a member of the Arab League.[9]

The pattern broke at the end of 1960, after fifteen nations from Africa outside the Arab League joined the United Nations in the span of one month, increasing the number of nations without a group from four to nineteen.[9][3] The new members gave Africa, Asia, and Latin America together a commanding 66 out of 99 seats on the General Assembly. (Cyprus and Turkey caucused with Asia, while the Republic of China, Israel, and South Africa did not caucus with Asia or Africa.[9][5]) In the election for the 1961 term, the Republic of China (Taiwan) failed to obtain a two-thirds majority for re-election, while Ethiopia received a two-thirds majority. Belgium, the Republic of China, and India deadlocked on the Netherlands' outgoing seat for fourteen rounds, which was left vacant for over four months, well into the 1961 term. After negotiations, all three members withdrew in place of Italy, with an agreement that next year, Spain's outgoing seat would go to a candidate from either Africa or Asia.[3] This changed pattern would continue until 1965 when ECOSOC was expanded.

(Ten deadlocked rounds occurred on 9 December 1960,[10] and three more occurred on 20 December 1960.[11] A fourteenth round was scheduled for 13 April 1961, but was postponed by the President of the General Assembly with no objections while "the interested delegations and groups" negotiated.[12] The fourteenth round occurred on 18 April 1961, electing Italy.[13])

Membership by regional group[edit]

An amendment to the UN Charter in 1965 expanded the Economic and Social Council from 18 to 27 seats. A rule was also adopted to officially distribute the seats according to the Regional Groups. The 9-seat expansion added 5 African seats, 2 Asian seats, 1 Latin American seat, and 1 WEOG seat.

Another Charter amendment in 1973 further expanded the Economic and Social Council to 54 seats.

Table[edit]

The heading 3N + 1 refers to years that are a multiple of 3 plus one, and so on.

1962–1965 1966–1973 1974–present
3N 3N + 1 3N + 2 3N 3N + 1 3N + 2 3N 3N + 1 3N + 2
African Group 1 0 1 3 1 3 5 4 5
Asia-Pacific Group 1 1 1 2 2 1 4 4 3
Eastern European Group 1 2 0 1 2 0 2 3 1
Latin American and Caribbean Group 1 1 2 1 2 2 3 3 4
Western European and Others Group 2 2 2 2 2 3 4 4 5

After the original 18 members of ECOSOC were elected, the General Assembly decided by a simple majority which six members would get 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year initial terms.[14] This determined the seat staggering pattern (for example, the Eastern European seats were imbalanced because no Eastern European member was originally elected to a 3-year term).

When nine new seats were added in 1965, the General Assembly decided by a 60–44 vote that the President would randomly draw lots to determine which three would get 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year initial terms.[15] This created an imbalance in the African Group.

When 27 new seats were added in 1973, the President consulted with the chairs of the regional groups and proposed to the General Assembly to draw lots again; no member objected. In the proposal, term lengths would be distributed evenly at random for each Regional Group. For example, since the Western European and Others Group had six new seats, two would be randomly drawn for each term length. Since the Latin American and Caribbean Group had five new seats while the African Group had seven, the two groups agreed to also draw lots to determine the uneven distribution. As a result, the African Group would get three 1-year, two 2-year, and two 3-year initial terms for their new seats, while the Latin American and Caribbean Group would get one 1-year, two 2-year, and two 3-year initial terms.

African Group[edit]

Similar to on the Security Council, the African Union is in charge of distributing the African Group's seats based on the African Union's subregions,[16][17] and the African Group is the only UN regional group to have such an internal seat system.[9] Unlike on the Security Council, the distribution of ECOSOC seats is not strict, and may change if (for example) a subregion does not receive enough applicants in a given year.[18] For example, at the end of 2004, the term of Libya ended and no member from Northern Africa applied. A member from Central Africa effectively replaced Libya. One year later, the term of the Republic of the Congo ended and the seat was given to Mauritania, undoing the 'imbalance' but changing the arrangement of seats (years that are a multiple of 3 now no longer elect any Northern African members).

Legend:    Western    Northern    Central    Southern    Eastern

1966–1978[edit]

Prior to 1979, there were four subregions. An official African Union document from 1972 states a pattern of how many seats per region are to be doled out,[19] but in practice this pattern changed over time and did not stabilize until approximately the late 1980s.

Year Western Northern Central Eastern
1966
Sierra Leone 		 Dahomey  Algeria  Morocco  Cameroon  Gabon  Tanzania
1967  Libya
1968
Upper Volta 		 Chad
Congo
(Brazzaville)
1969  Sudan
1970  Ghana  Tunisia  Kenya
1971  Niger  Zaire  Madagascar
1972  Burundi
1973  Mali  Algeria  Uganda

Formally, Liberia, Congo, and Zambia were elected in place of outgoing Niger, Zaire, and Madagascar, while Ivory Coast and Egypt were elected to newly created seats.[20]

Year Western Northern Central Eastern
1974  Liberia  Ivory Coast  Mali  Guinea  Senegal  Algeria  Egypt  Congo  Zaire[a]  Burundi  Uganda  Zambia  Ethiopia  Kenya
1975  Gabon
1976  Nigeria  Togo  Tunisia
1977  Mauritania Upper Volta  Sudan  Rwanda  Somalia
1978  Cameroon  Central African Empire  Lesotho  Tanzania
  1. ^ Zaire lost re-election in November 1973, but was then elected to one of the newly created ECOSOC seats and drew a 1-year term.[20] It then won re-election in this new seat in December 1974.[21]

1979–1996[edit]

With five regions, the distribution of seats eventually stabilized into the following pattern: 4 seats to Western Africa, 3 seats to Eastern Africa, 2 seats to Northern Africa, 2 seats to Southern Africa, and 3 seats to Central Africa.

Year Western Eastern Northern Southern Central
1979  Ghana  Senegal  Mauritania  Algeria  Tanzania  Somalia  Lesotho[a]  Sudan  Morocco  Zambia Upper Volta  Cameroon  Central African Empire  Rwanda
1980  Nigeria  Ethiopia  Libya  Malawi  Zaire
1981  Kenya  Sudan  Burundi
1982  Benin  Liberia  Mali  Tunisia  Swaziland
1983  Sierra Leone  Djibouti  Algeria  Botswana  Congo
1984  Somalia  Uganda  Rwanda  Zaire
1985  Guinea  Nigeria  Senegal  Morocco  Zimbabwe
1986  Egypt  Mozambique  Gabon
1987  Sudan
1988  Ghana  Liberia  Libya  Lesotho
1989  Niger  Kenya  Tunisia  Zambia  Cameroon
1990  Burkina Faso  Algeria
1991  Togo  Somalia  Morocco  Botswana
1992  Benin  Ethiopia  Madagascar  Swaziland  Angola
1993  Nigeria  Libya  Gabon
1994  Ghana  Senegal  Tanzania  Egypt  Zimbabwe
1995  Côte d'Ivoire  Sudan  Uganda  South Africa  Congo
1996  Togo  Tunisia  Central African Republic
  1. ^ Changed regions while still on ECOSOC.

1997–present[edit]

With Namibia, South Africa, and Angola all joining the Southern Africa region within a short period of time, the Southern Africa region gained a third seat, first at the expense of Northern Africa and then eventually Central Africa. (Angola's region change took place in 1995, so the first affected applications to the African Union took place in March 1996, in time for the October 1996 ECOSOC elections for the 1997 term.)[16] The first years to match the modern seat distribution (4 seats to Western Africa, 2 seats to Northern Africa, 2 seats to Central Africa, 3 seats to Southern Africa, 3 seats to Eastern Africa) were 1998–1999. No changes to the seat distribution have occurred since 2006.

Year Western Northern Central Southern Eastern
1997  Cape Verde  Gambia  Togo  Côte d'Ivoire  Congo  Zambia  Tunisia  Central African Republic  Gabon  South Africa  Mozambique  Djibouti  Sudan  Uganda
1998  Sierra Leone  Algeria  Lesotho  Comoros  Mauritius
1999  Guinea-Bissau  Morocco  Democratic Republic of the Congo  Rwanda
2000  Benin  Burkina Faso  Cameroon  Angola  Sudan
2001  Nigeria  Egypt  South Africa  Ethiopia  Uganda
2002  Ghana  Libya  Burundi  Zimbabwe
2003  Senegal  Congo  Mozambique  Kenya
2004  Tunisia  Namibia  Mauritius  Tanzania
2005  Guinea  Chad  Democratic Republic of the Congo  South Africa
2006  Guinea-Bissau  Mauritania  Angola  Madagascar
2007  Cape Verde  Algeria  Malawi  Somalia  Sudan
2008  Niger  Cameroon  Congo  Mozambique
2009  Côte d'Ivoire  Morocco  Namibia  Mauritius
2010  Ghana  Egypt  Zambia  Comoros  Rwanda
2011  Senegal  Gabon  Malawi
2012  Burkina Faso  Nigeria  Libya  Lesotho  Ethiopia
2013  Benin  Tunisia  South Africa  Mauritius  Sudan
2014  Togo  Congo  Democratic Republic of the Congo  Botswana
2015  Ghana  Mauritania  Zimbabwe  Uganda
2016  Nigeria  Algeria  Rwanda  Somalia
2017  Benin  Cameroon  Chad  Eswatini
2018  Togo  Morocco  Malawi  Sudan
2019  Mali  Egypt  Angola  Ethiopia  Kenya
2020  Congo  Gabon  Botswana
2021  Liberia  Nigeria  Libya  Zimbabwe  Madagascar
2022  Cote d'Ivoire  Tunisia  Eswatini  Mauritius  Tanzania
2023  Cabo Verde  Cameroon  Equatorial Guinea
2024  Senegal  Mauritania  Zambia  Kenya

Asia-Pacific Group[edit]

In 1965, formally, the Philippines were elected in place of outgoing Japan, while Iran was elected to a newly created seat.[22]

1966  Philippines  Iran  India  Pakistan  Iraq
1967  Kuwait
1968  Japan
1969  Indonesia  Pakistan
1970  Ceylon
1971  Lebanon  Malaysia
1972  China  Japan
1973  Mongolia

Formally, South Yemen and Thailand were elected in place of outgoing Lebanon and Malaysia, while Iran and Jordan were elected to newly created seats.[20]

1974  South Yemen  Thailand  Iran  Jordan  Mongolia  Fiji  Indonesia  India  Pakistan  Japan  China
1975  North Yemen
1976  Afghanistan  Bangladesh  Malaysia
1977  Iraq  Philippines  Syria
1978  India  United Arab Emirates
1979  Cyprus  Pakistan  Indonesia
1980  Jordan    Nepal  Thailand
1981  Bangladesh  Fiji
1982  Qatar  Japan
1983  Lebanon  Malaysia  Saudi Arabia
1984  Indonesia  Papua New Guinea  Sri Lanka
1985  Bangladesh  India
1986  Iraq  Pakistan  Philippines  Syria
1987  Iran  Oman
1988  Saudi Arabia
1989  Indonesia  Jordan  Thailand
1990  Bahrain  Pakistan
1991  Malaysia  Syria
1992  Bangladesh  India  Kuwait  Philippines
1993  Bhutan  South Korea  Sri Lanka
1994  Indonesia  Pakistan
1995  Malaysia  Thailand
1996  Bangladesh  Jordan  Lebanon
1997  South Korea  Sri Lanka
1998  Oman  Pakistan  Viet Nam
1999  Indonesia  Saudi Arabia  Syria
2000  Bahrain  Fiji
2001  Iran    Nepal  South Korea
2002  Bhutan  India  Qatar
2003  Malaysia  Saudi Arabia
2004  Bangladesh  Indonesia  United Arab Emirates
2005  Pakistan  Thailand
2006  Sri Lanka
2007  Iraq  Kazakhstan  Philippines
2008  Malaysia  South Korea
2009  India
2010  Bangladesh  Mongolia
2011  Qatar
2012  Indonesia
2013  Kuwait  Kyrgyzstan    Nepal  Turkmenistan
2014  Bangladesh  Kazakhstan
2015  Pakistan
2016  Afghanistan  Iraq  Lebanon  Viet Nam
2017  Tajikistan  United Arab Emirates
2018  Philippines
2019  Iran  Pakistan  Saudi Arabia  Turkmenistan  Cambodia  Yemen
2020  Bangladesh  Thailand
2021  Indonesia  Solomon Islands
2022  Afghanistan[a]  India  Kazakhstan  Oman
2023  Laos  Qatar
2024    Nepal  Pakistan
  1. ^ The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan was elected in June 2021,[23] and retains its UN seat despite losing control over its territory in September 2021.

Eastern European Group[edit]

1966  Czechoslovakia  Romania  Soviet Union
1967
1968  Bulgaria
1969  Yugoslavia
1970
1971  Hungary
1972  Poland
1973

Formally, Romania was elected in place of outgoing Hungary, while East Germany was elected to a newly created seat.[20]

1974  Romania  East Germany  Yugoslavia  Poland  Czechoslovakia  Soviet Union
1975  Bulgaria
1976
1977  Poland  Ukrainian SSR
1978  Hungary  Romania
1979  East Germany
1980  Bulgaria  Yugoslavia
1981  Byelorussian SSR  Poland
1982  Romania
1983  East Germany
1984  Yugoslavia
1985
1986  Byelorussian SSR
1987  Bulgaria
1988  Yugoslavia
1989  Czechoslovakia  Ukrainian SSR
1990  East Germany[a]
1991  Romania
1992  Belarus  Poland
1993  Ukraine  Russia[b]
1994  Bulgaria
1995
1996  Czech Republic
1997  Latvia
1998
1999  Bulgaria
2000  Croatia
2001  Georgia  Romania
2002  Hungary  Ukraine
2003  Azerbaijan
2004  Armenia  Poland
2005  Albania  Lithuania
2006  Czech Republic
2007  Belarus  Romania
2008  Moldova  Poland
2009  Estonia
2010  Slovakia  Ukraine
2011  Hungary  Latvia
2012  Belarus  Bulgaria
2013  Albania  Croatia
2014  Georgia  Serbia
2015  Estonia
2016  Czech Republic  Moldova
2017  Azerbaijan  Bosnia and Herzegovina
2018  Belarus  Romania
2019  Armenia  Ukraine
2020  Latvia  Montenegro
2021  Bulgaria
2022  Croatia  Czechia
2023  Slovakia  Slovenia Vacant[c]
2024  Poland
  1. ^ East Germany ceased to exist ten months into its term. In a special election in November 1990, Romania was elected in its place and was seated immediately (before the other members which were seated January 1991).[24]
  2. ^ The Soviet Union was (re-)elected to a 3-year term starting in 1990. Russia first appeared on ballots for the 1993 term.
  3. ^ North Macedonia and Russia have deadlocked over this seat for twenty-three rounds of balloting, with neither candidate able to obtain a two-thirds majority. This is the only vacancy to have lasted more than a year. (Six rounds took place on 10 June 2022,[25][26] five rounds took place on 16 June 2022,[27] five rounds took place on 11 July 2022,[28] three rounds took place on 2 September 2022,[29] three rounds took place on 20 December 2022,[30] and one round took place on 8 June 2023.[31])

Latin American and Caribbean Group[edit]

In 1965, formally, Panama was elected in place of outgoing Argentina, while Venezuela was elected to a newly created seat.[22]

1966  Panama  Venezuela  Peru  Chile  Ecuador
1967  Guatemala  Mexico
1968  Argentina
1969  Jamaica  Uruguay
1970  Brazil  Peru
1971  Haiti
1972  Bolivia  Chile
1973  Trinidad and Tobago

Formally, Mexico was elected in place of outgoing Haiti, while Colombia and Jamaica were elected to newly created seats.[20]

1974  Mexico  Colombia  Jamaica  Brazil  Trinidad and Tobago  Guatemala  Venezuela  Bolivia  Chile  Argentina
1975  Ecuador  Peru
1976  Bolivia  Cuba
1977
1978  Dominican Republic  Trinidad and Tobago
1979  Barbados  Ecuador
1980  Bahamas  Chile
1981  Nicaragua  Peru
1982  Colombia  Saint Lucia
1983  Ecuador  Suriname
1984  Costa Rica  Guyana
1985  Haiti
1986  Jamaica  Panama  Peru
1987  Belize  Bolivia  Uruguay
1988  Cuba  Trinidad and Tobago
1989  Bahamas  Brazil  Nicaragua
1990  Ecuador  Jamaica  Mexico
1991  Argentina  Chile  Peru
1992  Colombia  Suriname
1993  Bahamas  Cuba
1994  Costa Rica  Paraguay  Venezuela
1995  Jamaica
1996  Argentina  Guyana  Nicaragua
1997  Cuba  El Salvador  Mexico
1998  Saint Lucia
1999  Bolivia  Honduras  Venezuela
2000  Costa Rica  Suriname
2001  Argentina  Peru
2002  Chile  El Salvador  Guatemala
2003  Ecuador  Jamaica  Nicaragua
2004  Belize  Colombia  Panama
2005  Brazil  Costa Rica  Mexico
2006  Guyana  Haiti  Paraguay
2007  Barbados  Bolivia  El Salvador
2008  Saint Lucia  Uruguay
2009  Guatemala  Peru  Saint Kitts and Nevis  Venezuela
2010  Argentina  Bahamas  Chile
2011  Ecuador  Mexico  Nicaragua
2012  Brazil  Cuba  Dominican Republic  El Salvador
2013  Bolivia  Colombia  Haiti
2014  Antigua and Barbuda  Guatemala  Panama
2015  Argentina  Honduras  Trinidad and Tobago
2016  Chile  Guyana  Peru
2017  Colombia  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  Venezuela
2018  Ecuador  El Salvador  Mexico  Uruguay
2019  Brazil  Jamaica  Paraguay
2020  Nicaragua  Panama
2021  Argentina  Bolivia  Guatemala
2022  Belize  Chile  Peru
2023  Brazil  Costa Rica
2024  Haiti  Paraguay  Suriname  Uruguay

Western European and Others Group[edit]

The Western European and Others Group contains three caucusing subgroups (Benelux, the Nordic countries, and CANZ[a]). In practice, since 1976, this has created seats that 'belong' to a subgroup with few exceptions, as well as seats that never go to any of the subgroups. Iceland joined the Nordic caucus in 1998.[32][33]

Since 2000, the Group has engaged in a large number of special elections, with members voluntarily giving part of their 3-year term to another member. In many cases, the newly elected member then runs for re-election, only to again give part of their new 3-year term to another member, creating an 'offset' effect where members' terms do not align with the usual cycle. Below, all re-elections are shown as separate table cells. To prevent distorting or stretching the table, special elections resulting in 1-year terms are abbreviated to the country's ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 code.

1966  Sweden  United Kingdom  Canada  United States  France  Luxembourg  Greece
1967  France  Belgium  Turkey
1968  Ireland  United States
1969  Norway  United Kingdom
1970  France  Italy  Greece
1971  New Zealand  United States
1972  Finland  United Kingdom
1973  France  Netherlands  Spain

Formally, Australia was elected in place of outgoing New Zealand, while Belgium and Italy were elected to newly created seats.[20]

1974  Australia  Belgium  Italy  United States  France  Spain  Turkey  Netherlands  West Germany  Finland  Sweden  Canada  United Kingdom
1975  Denmark  Norway  Canada  United Kingdom
1976  France  Greece  Portugal  Austria  West Germany
1977  New Zealand  Netherlands  Italy  United States
1978  Finland  Sweden  Malta  United Kingdom
1979  France  Spain  Turkey  Ireland  West Germany
1980  Australia  Belgium  Italy  United States
1981  Denmark  Norway  Canada  United Kingdom
1982  France  Greece  Portugal  Austria  West Germany
1983  New Zealand  Luxembourg  Netherlands  United States
1984  Finland  Sweden  Canada  United Kingdom
1985  France  Spain  Turkey  Iceland  West Germany
1986  Australia  Belgium  Italy  United States
1987  Denmark  Norway  Canada  United Kingdom
1988  France  Greece  Portugal  Ireland  West Germany
1989  New Zealand  Netherlands  Italy  United States
1990  Finland  Sweden  Canada  United Kingdom
1991  France  Spain  Turkey  Austria  Germany
1992  Australia  Belgium  Italy  United States
1993  Denmark  Norway  Canada  United Kingdom
1994  France  Greece  Portugal  Ireland  Germany
1995  Australia  Luxembourg  Netherlands  United States
1996  Finland  Sweden  Canada  United Kingdom
1997  France  Spain  Turkey  Iceland  Germany
1998  New Zealand  Belgium  Italy  United States
1999  Denmark  Norway  Canada  United Kingdom
2000  France  GRC  Portugal  Austria  Germany
2001  Andorra  Netherlands  Italy  United States  Malta
2002  ESP  Finland  Sweden  Australia  United Kingdom
2003  France  Greece  PRT  Ireland  Germany
2004  Canada  Belgium  Italy  United States  Turkey
2005  ESP  Denmark  Iceland  Australia  United Kingdom
2006  France  ESP  TUR  Austria  Germany
2007  Canada  Luxembourg  Netherlands  United States  Portugal  Greece  NZL
2008  LIE  Sweden  ISL  New Zealand  United Kingdom
2009  France  PRT  GRC  Germany  Liechtenstein  Norway
2010  Canada  Belgium  Italy  United States  TUR  Malta  FIN  AUS
2011  ESP   CHE  Finland  NOR  Australia  United Kingdom
2012  NLD  France  Spain  Turkey  DEU  Ireland   CHE[b]
2013  Canada  NLD  San Marino  United States  Austria  DNK  SWE  NZL
2014  Italy  PRT  GRC  DEU  DNK  Sweden  NZL  United Kingdom
2015  AUS  France  Portugal  Greece  AUT  Germany  Finland   Switzerland
2016  Australia  Italy  Belgium  United States  Ireland
2017  ESP  TUR  Norway  SWE  Andorra  United Kingdom
2018  CAN  France  ESP  Turkey  Ireland  Germany  Denmark
2019  Canada  Luxembourg  Netherlands  United States  Malta
2020  ESP  Norway  Finland  Australia   Switzerland
2021  France  United Kingdom  Portugal  Austria  DEU
2022  Canada  Belgium  Italy  United States  Israel  FIN[c]  DNK  NZL  GRC
2023  LIE  Sweden  Denmark  New Zealand  GRC
2024  France  United Kingdom  Spain  Liechtenstein  Germany  Türkiye
  1. ^ Canada, Australia, and New Zealand
  2. ^ Switzerland was not re-elected; Norway gave the last two years of its term to Switzerland separately from the regular election.[34] (Switzerland then gave the rest of its term to Sweden a year later.)
  3. ^ In June 2021, Finland gave the last year of its term to Denmark.[35] In December 2021, Norway gave the last year of its term to Finland.[36]

List by number of years as ECOSOC member[edit]

A total of 175 United Nations member states have been elected to ECOSOC. Out of these, 5 have ceased to exist and 1 has been expelled, leaving a total of 169 members. Combined with the 24 current members that have never been elected to ECOSOC (see #Non-members below), these make up the 193 current members of the UN.

  UNSC permanent member
  Current elected member (2024)
  Former United Nations member
Years Country First Year Most Recent
Year 		Regional Group Notes
79  France 1946 2024 WEOG UNSC permanent member
79  United States 1946 2024 WEOG UNSC permanent member
78  United Kingdom 1946 2024 WEOG UNSC permanent member
53  China 1972 2024 Asia-Pacific UNSC permanent member
15  Republic of China 1946 1960 None Former UNSC permanent member
46  Soviet Union 1946 1991 E. European Former UNSC permanent member
31  Russia 1992 2022 E. European UNSC permanent member, currently not on ECOSOC
61  Japan 1960 2024 Asia-Pacific
59  Brazil 1948 2024 GRULAC
59  India 1946 2024 Asia-Pacific Includes approximately 2 years as British India
56  Pakistan 1950 2024 Asia-Pacific
55  Canada 1946 2024 WEOG
47  Germany 1974 2024 WEOG Includes 17 years as West Germany, but excludes 13 years as East Germany
45  Mexico 1950 2023 GRULAC
44  Italy 1961 2024 WEOG
43  Argentina 1952 2023 GRULAC
43  Poland 1948 2024 E. European
42  Colombia 1946 2024 GRULAC
41  Venezuela 1947 2019 GRULAC
39  Chile 1946 2024 GRULAC
37  Australia 1948 2021 WEOG
36  Belgium 1946 2024 WEOG
36  Peru 1946 2024 GRULAC
35  Indonesia 1956 2023 Asia-Pacific
34  Netherlands 1947 2021 WEOG
33  Turkey 1947 2024 WEOG
32  Bulgaria 1959 2023 E. European
31  Democratic Republic of the Congo 1971 2016 African
31  Denmark 1948 2024 WEOG
31  Greece 1946 2023 WEOG
31  Norway 1946 2021 WEOG
31  Romania 1965 2019 E. European
31  Sweden 1951 2024 WEOG
30  Sudan 1958 2020 African
30  Yugoslavia 1946 1993 E. European
29  Cuba 1946 2014 GRULAC
29  Finland 1957 2022 WEOG
29  New Zealand 1947 2024 WEOG
29  South Korea 1993 2024 Asia-Pacific
28  Nigeria 1976 2024 African
28  Spain 1959 2024 WEOG
27  Algeria 1964 2018 African
27  Bangladesh 1976 2022 Asia-Pacific
27  Belarus 1947 2020 E. European Includes 9 years as the Byelorussian SSR
27  Ecuador 1954 2020 GRULAC
27  Philippines 1951 2020 Asia-Pacific
26  Benin 1966 2022 African
25  Cameroon 1966 2024 African
24  Congo 1968 2022 African
24  Egypt 1952 2021 African
24  Ghana 1970 2020 African
24  Iran 1950 2021 Asia-Pacific
24  Iraq 1964 2018 Asia-Pacific
24  Jamaica 1969 2021 GRULAC
24  Portugal 1976 2023 WEOG
24  Tunisia 1970 2024 African
23  Austria 1963 2022 WEOG
22  Ethiopia 1961 2021 African
22  Ireland 1968 2020 WEOG
21  Bolivia 1972 2023 GRULAC
21  Czechoslovakia 1946 1991 E. European
21  Gabon 1965 2022 African
21  Libya 1967 2023 African
21  Malaysia 1971 2010 Asia-Pacific
21  Morocco 1966 2020 African
21  Rwanda 1977 2018 African
21  Saudi Arabia 1983 2021 Asia-Pacific
21  Senegal 1962 2024 African
21  Thailand 1974 2022 Asia-Pacific
20  Kenya 1970 2024 African
19  Ukraine 1946 2021 E. European Includes 7 years as the Ukrainian SSR
19  Uruguay 1951 2024 GRULAC
18  Burkina Faso 1968 2017 African
18  El Salvador 1961 2020 GRULAC
18  Nicaragua 1981 2022 GRULAC
18  Somalia 1977 2018 African
18  Sri Lanka 1970 2008 Asia-Pacific
18  Uganda 1973 2017 African
17  Costa Rica 1958 2024 GRULAC
17  Guatemala 1967 2023 GRULAC
16  Lebanon 1946 2018 Asia-Pacific
16  Tanzania 1966 2024 African
16  Zambia 1974 2024 African
15  Czech Republic 1996 2024 E. European
15  Jordan 1961 1998 Asia-Pacific
15  Luxembourg 1964 2021 WEOG
15  Mauritius 1998 2024 African
15  Panama 1966 2022 GRULAC
15  South Africa 1995 2018 African
15  Togo 1976 2020 African
15  Trinidad and Tobago 1973 2017 GRULAC
15  Zimbabwe 1985 2023 African
14  Botswana 1983 2024 African
14  Guinea 1974 2007 African
13  East Germany 1974 1990 E. European
13  Haiti 1971 2024 GRULAC
13  Sierra Leone 1966 2000 African
12  Afghanistan 1959 2024 Asia-Pacific
12  Angola 1992 2021 African
12  Bahamas 1980 2012 GRULAC
12  Ivory Coast 1974 2024 African
12  Eswatini 1982 2024 African
12  Guyana 1984 2018 GRULAC
12  Lesotho 1978 2014 African
12  Liberia 1974 2023 African
12  Madagascar 1971 2023 African
12  Malawi 1980 2020 African
12  Mozambique 1986 2010 African
12  Syria 1977 2001 Asia-Pacific
11  Qatar 1982 2024 Asia-Pacific
10  Hungary 1971 2011 E. European
10  Iceland 1985 2008 WEOG
10  Mauritania 1977 2024 African
10    Nepal 1980 2024 Asia-Pacific
10  Paraguay 1994 2024 GRULAC
10  Suriname 1983 2024 GRULAC
9  Belize 1987 2024 GRULAC
9  Burundi 1972 2004 African
9  Chad 1968 2019 African
9  Croatia 2000 2024 E. European
9  Djibouti 1983 1999 African
9  Dominican Republic 1955 2014 GRULAC
9  Guinea-Bissau 1999 2011 African
9  Kazakhstan 2007 2024 Asia-Pacific
9  Kuwait 1967 2015 Asia-Pacific
9  Latvia 1997 2022 E. European
9  Mali 1973 2021 African
9  Malta 1978 2020 WEOG
9  Niger 1971 2010 African
9  Oman 1987 2024 Asia-Pacific
9  Saint Lucia 1982 2010 GRULAC
8  Cape Verde 1997 2024 African
8  Fiji 1974 2002 Asia-Pacific
8  United Arab Emirates 1978 2018 Asia-Pacific
6  Albania 2005 2015 E. European
6  Andorra 2001 2019 WEOG
6  Armenia 2004 2021 E. European
6  Azerbaijan 2003 2019 E. European
6  Bahrain 1990 2002 Asia-Pacific
6  Barbados 1979 2009 GRULAC
6  Bhutan 1993 2004 Asia-Pacific
6  Central African Republic 1978 1998 African
6  Comoros 1998 2012 African
6  Estonia 2009 2017 E. European
6  Georgia 2001 2016 E. European
6  Honduras 1999 2017 GRULAC
6  Moldova 2008 2018 E. European
6  Mongolia 1973 2012 Asia-Pacific
6  Namibia 2004 2011 African
6   Switzerland 2011 2021 WEOG
6  Turkmenistan 2013 2021 Asia-Pacific
6  Viet Nam 1998 2018 Asia-Pacific
5  Liechtenstein 2008 2024 WEOG
5  Slovakia 2010 2024 E. European
4  Yemen 1975 2019 Asia-Pacific Includes 3 years as North Yemen, but excludes 3 years as South Yemen
3  Antigua and Barbuda 2014 2016 GRULAC
3  Cyprus 1979 1981 Asia-Pacific
3  Gambia 1997 1999 African
3  Kyrgyzstan 2013 2015 Asia-Pacific
3  Lithuania 2005 2007 E. European
3  Montenegro 2020 2022 E. European
3  Papua New Guinea 1984 1986 Asia-Pacific
3  Saint Kitts and Nevis 2009 2011 GRULAC
3  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 2017 2019 GRULAC
3  San Marino 2013 2015 WEOG
3  Serbia 2014 2016 E. European
3  Solomon Islands 2021 2023 Asia-Pacific
3  South Yemen 1974 1976 Asian
2  Equatorial Guinea 2023 2024 African
2  Israel 2022 2023 WEOG
2  Laos 2023 2024 Asia-Pacific
2  Slovenia 2023 2024 E. European
2  Tajikistan 2017 2018 Asia-Pacific
1  Bosnia and Herzegovina 2017 2017 E. European
1  Cambodia 2019 2019 Asia-Pacific

Non-members[edit]

This lists all current UN members that have never been a member of the Economic and Social Council.

UN Member state Regional Group
 Brunei Asia-Pacific
 Dominica GRULAC
 East Timor Asia-Pacific
 Eritrea African
 Grenada GRULAC
 Kiribati None
 Maldives Asia-Pacific
 Marshall Islands Asia-Pacific
 Micronesia Asia-Pacific
 Monaco WEOG
 Myanmar Asia-Pacific
 Nauru Asia-Pacific
 North Korea Asia-Pacific
 North Macedonia E. European
 Palau Asia-Pacific
 Samoa Asia-Pacific
 São Tomé and Príncipe African
 Seychelles Asia-Pacific
 Singapore Asia-Pacific
 South Sudan African
 Tonga Asia-Pacific
 Tuvalu Asia-Pacific
 Uzbekistan Asia-Pacific
 Vanuatu Asia-Pacific

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Economic and Social Council Membership - UN Membership - Research Guides at United Nations Dag Hammarskjöld Library".
  2. ^ UN Economic and Social Council Members list (official site)
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Gregg, Robert W. “The Economic and Social Council: Politics of Membership.” The Western Political Quarterly, vol. 16, no. 1, 1963, pp. 109–32. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/445962. Accessed 5 Mar. 2024.
  4. ^ "Minutes of the First Meeting of the United States Delegation, on Board the Queen Elizabeth, January 2, 1946, 11 a.m."
  5. ^ a b c Padelford, Norman J. “Politics and the Future of ECOSOC.” International Organization, vol. 15, no. 4, 1961, pp. 564–80. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/2705552. Accessed 24 Mar. 2024.
  6. ^ http://undocs.org/en/A/PV.94
  7. ^ http://undocs.org/en/A/PV.389
  8. ^ http://undocs.org/en/A/PV.390
  9. ^ a b c d e f Agam, Hasmy; Sam Daws; Terence O'Brien; Ramesh Takur (26 March 1999). What is Equitable Geographic Representation in the Twenty-First Century (PDF) (Report). United Nations University. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  10. ^ "A/PV.942".
  11. ^ "A/PV.959".
  12. ^ "A/PV.981".
  13. ^ "A/PV.987".
  14. ^ "A/PV.6".
  15. ^ "A/PV.1403".
  16. ^ a b Endeley, Isaac (2009). Bloc Politics at the United Nations: The African Group. University Press of America. ISBN 978-0761845584.
  17. ^ Endeley, Isaac (1998). Le Groupe africain à l'ONU dans l'après-guerre froide (PDF) (PhD thesis) (in French). Université de Montréal. Retrieved 2024-03-30.
  18. ^ "Note of Presentation of the Document on Candidatures" (PDF).
  19. ^ "Report of the Administrative Secretary-General on African Candidatures to the United Nation and its Specialized Agencies and to other International Organizations" (PDF).
  20. ^ a b c d e f "A/PV.2177".
  21. ^ "A/PV.2306".
  22. ^ a b "A/PV.1396".
  23. ^ "A/75/PV.73".
  24. ^ "A/45/PV.41".
  25. ^ "A/76/PV.81".
  26. ^ "A/76/PV.82".
  27. ^ "A/76/PV.83".
  28. ^ "A/76/PV.93".
  29. ^ "A/76/PV.98".
  30. ^ "A/77/PV.56".
  31. ^ "A/77/PV.77".
  32. ^ "Special Research Report No. 4: Security Council Elections 2006 : Research Report : Security Council Report".
  33. ^ "Security Council Elections 2022" (PDF).
  34. ^ "A/66/PV.39".
  35. ^ "A/75/PV.73".
  36. ^ "A/76/PV.52".

External links[edit]

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