Since the founding of the United Nations nearly eight decades ago, the United States has been the largest financier of the organization. Yet few grasp exactly how much U.S. contributions outstrip those of other nations, and fewer still seem to appreciate America’s generosity, least of all the U.N. and the other member states.
Last year alone, according to the U.N. Chief Executives Board, the United States provided $18.1 billion to the U.N. system. This represented more than a third of all government revenue received by the U.N. system in 2022. Both in dollar terms and as a percentage of total government contributions to the U.N. system, U.S. contributions are at a 10-year high.
How does that measure up to contributions from other nations? The U.S. gave about three times as much as second-place Germany ($6.8 billion) and over six times as much as third-place Japan ($2.7 billion) in 2022. In fact, the U.S. provided more funding to the U.N. system than 185 other U.N. member states combined…