On 18 September 1973, the Federal Republic of Germany and the GDR joined the United Nations (UN). This was a major step for Germany in its return to the international fold. The Federal Government is committed to the principles of the UN Charter and to multilateral engagement in the United Nations. Germany is active in a large number of UN committees, institutions and peace missions, is one of the largest contributors, and has been a non‑permanent member of the Security Council five times, most recently in 2019‑20. For the 2027‑28 term, Germany is once again standing as a candidate for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council, to assume responsibility for peace and security. On the Security Council, Germany wants to focus on climate, security and conflict prevention.

The United Nations in Germany

Over the course of its membership, Germany has steadily expanded and strengthened its engagement in the UN. Today 37 UN organisations with over 1000 staff members are based in Germany – in Bonn, Berlin, Munich, Hamburg and other cities.

Engagement in United Nations peace missions

Germany’s engagement in UN peace missions is an integral part of German foreign and security policy. Apart from its contributions in the form of financing, personnel and materials, Germany primarily provides support to UN missions through civilian instruments and by promoting stabilisation mechanisms, diplomatic mediation efforts and post‑conflict peacebuilding. Across the board Germany provides soldiers, police officers and civilian personnel, as well as valuable capabilities and training measures. Germany also actively supports the reform efforts in the area of peacekeeping.

As of January 2024, a total of around 400 Germans were deployed to missions of the United Nations. For example, Germany is part of the UNIFIL Maritime Task Force in Lebanon and of the missions in South Sudan (UNMISS), the Western Sahara (MINURSO) and Kosovo (UNMIK). All of the deployments are conducted within the framework of mutual collective security and in accordance with its rules.

Commitment to reform

The composition of the Security Council in particular no longer reflects the geopolitical realities of the 21st century. That is why the Federal Government, along with its G4 partners Brazil, India and Japan, supports Security Council reform. Because as long as some regions and major contributors are not adequately represented, the Security Council’s legitimacy and authority are at risk.

Find out more about UN reform

Making the United Nations fit for the future

Reform endeavours are also underway in other areas. UN Secretary‑General António Guterres is seeking to carry out a comprehensive reform agenda (Our Common Agenda) to make the UN fit for the challenges of the future. To that end, he has defined priorities that Germany supports. In addition to the coherent implementation of the 2030 Agenda, the aim is to strengthen conflict prevention and renew the UN peace and security architecture. At the UN Summit of the Future in New York in September 2024, the international community agreed on a Pact for the Future that will be a landmark in how to address current and future global challenges such as climate change and sustainable development. Germany and Namibia co‑facilitated the negotiations, which were intensive and at times difficult, and pulled all the strands together.

Find out more about the Summit of the Future

Germany’s contributions to the UN system

The UN’s budget for 2024 amounts to just under 3.59 billion US dollars. Germany contributes 6.11% of this, making it the fourth-largest contributor to the UN regular budget, after the United States (22%), China (15.25%) and Japan (8.03%). The budgets for the individual peace missions are adopted separately. The budget envisaged for the eleven ongoing peace missions for the period from July 2023 to June 2024 is approximately 6.054 billion US dollars. Germany currently contributes 6.11 percent of that amount and is the fourth-largest contributor. The permanent members of the Security Council pay a higher share because of their special responsibility for peace missions. The largest financial contributors are the United States (26.95%), China (18.69%) and Japan (8.033%).

In addition, Germany pays assessed contributions to the United Nations International Residual Mechanism for Criminal Tribunals (the mechanism mandated to perform a number of functions previously carried out by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda) and to specialised agencies and other UN entities.

Not all UN institutions are financed by assessed contributions. As a member and for political reasons, Germany has also made large voluntary contributions to individual UN programmes and instruments, for example in the field of humanitarian assistance and peacebuilding, and supports the UN in the field of crisis prevention. It is the second-largest voluntary contributor after the United States. In 2023, the Federal Government paid a total of more than 5.1 billion euro to the UN in the form of financial contributions (assessed and voluntary) or in the form of projects. Germany is thus the second-largest contributor to the UN system as a whole.