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As Of 2006 , there are 191 United Nations member states. By definition, only sovereign State s can be members of the United Nations General Assembly , the universal consultative body of the United Nations , or of the United Nations Security Council , the exclusive decision-making body. Any other intergovernmental or legal entities can only be Observers , allowing them to speak, but not vote in Assembly meetings. CURRENT MEMBERS The members are listed below by alphabetical order in their short-form English names, with the date of joining. There were 51 founding members of the United Nations (shown in bold), of which 49 are either still in the organization or had their seat taken by a Successor State (e.g. India for British India or Russia for the USSR ). In the case of Czechoslovakia, the UN granted neither of its two successor states rights to the original seat. After the dissolution of the Socialist Federal Republic Of Yugoslavia , the Federal Republic Of Yugoslavia tried to take the seat of Yugoslavia as the successor state, but was denied, and had to reapply as a new member (it changed its name to Serbia and Montenegro in 2003). For the Seat Of China , the Republic Of China was replaced by the People's Republic Of China (as its successor state) in 1971 though the governments of both have existed well before and after the date of transfer ( See Below .)
SEAT OF CHINA ''Main article: China And The United Nations '' The Republic Of China was one of the five original founders of the UN in 1945. However, at the end of the Chinese Civil War in 1949, the Kuomintang -controlled ROC government fled to Taiwan , with the Communist government of the newly-declared People's Republic Of China taking control of most of the territory of China . Representatives of the Nationalist government continued to represent China at the UN, though it was often alleged that this was somewhat unfair, given the size of the ROC's jurisdiction of Taiwan (and other outlying islands) compared to the PRC's jurisdiction of Mainland China . In October 1971, Resolution 2758 was passed by the General Assembly , effectively expelling the ROC from all UN organs and replacing the China seat on the Security Council with the PRC. Multiple attempts by the Republic of China to re-join the UN, no longer to represent "China" as a whole but the "twenty-three million people of Taiwan," have not made it past committee. Therefore as of now, China takes its seat under the name "People's Republic of China". OBSERVER STATES AND NON-MEMBERS In addition to the member states discussed above, there is one non-member observer state, the Holy See ( Vatican City State ), which maintains a permanent observer mission at the UN headquarters. For several years, Switzerland was also an observer state, but it became a full member on September 10 , 2002 after a national Referendum . The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic of Western Sahara maintains diplomatic ties with Dozens Of States and is a full member of the African Union . It administers a Minority Of The Territory of Western Sahara, with a Government-in-exile headquartered in the Refugee Camps of Tindouf , Algeria . The rest of the area is under Military Occupation by Morocco . The UN Has Attempted to administer a Referendum for the Sahrawi s right to Self-determination . The island nations of the Cook Islands and Niue , while self-governing in their domestic affairs, have their foreign affairs represented by New Zealand , and therefore do not have UN membership. Some International Organization s, Non-governmental Organizations , or entities whose statehood/ Sovereignty has not been precisely defined, such as the European Union , the Palestinian National Authority (called simply " Palestine " in UN literature), the International Committee Of The Red Cross , and the Sovereign Military Order Of Malta , have a similar observer status but not as "non-member states." See United Nations General Assembly Observers for more information. FORMER MEMBERS Czechoslovakia was a member from October 24 , 1945 until December 31 , 1992 . Its seat has been taken by the ''' Czech Republic ''' and ''' Slovakia '''. There is no single successor state to Czechoslovakia, and both the Czech Republic and Slovakia had to apply for membership. East Germany was originally admitted as the " German Democratic Republic " on September 18 , 1973 . After the reunification of ''' Germany ''', its seat was taken on October 3 , 1990 . West Germany was originally admitted as the "Federal Republic of Germany" on September 18 , 1973 . After the reunification of '''Germany''', its seat was taken on October 3 , 1990 . North Yemen (the Yemen Arab Republic) was admitted on September 30 , 1947 , under the name "North Yemen." Starting May 22 , 1992 , it also represented '''South Yemen''' (the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen). South Yemen (the People's Democratic Republic of Yemen) was admitted on 14 December 1967 . Starting May 22 , 1992 , its seat was taken by '''Yemen'''. Tanganyika was a member from December 14 , 1961 until April 26 , 1964 , when its seat was taken by '''Tanzania'''. The United Arab Republic was a member from February 21 , 1958 through September 2 , 1971 , when '''Egypt''' changed its long-form name to the "Arab Republic of Egypt." The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a member from October 24 , 1945 through December 23 , 1991 . Its seat was taken by '''Russia''' on December 24 , 1991 . '''Belarus''' and '''Ukraine''' had prior membership. '''Estonia''', '''Latvia''', and '''Lithuania''' were admitted September 17 , 1991 . '''Armenia''', '''Azerbaijan''', '''Kazakhstan''', '''Kyrgyzstan''', '''Moldova''', '''Tajikistan''', '''Turkmenistan''', and '''Uzbekistan''' were admitted March 2 , 1992 . '''Georgia''' was admitted July 31 , 1992 . The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was a member from October 19 , 1945 through November 10 , 2000 . After its dissolution, the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia tried to take its seat as the successor state, but was denied, and had to reapply as a new member. The Federal Republic of Yugoslavia changed its name to '''Serbia and Montenegro'''. '''Bosnia and Herzegovina''' was admitted by General Assembly Resolution A/RES/46/237 on May 22 , 1992 . '''Croatia''' was admitted by General Assembly Resolution A/RES/46/238 on May 22 , 1992 . '''Macedonia''' was admitted by General Assembly Resolution A/RES/47/225 on April 8 , 1993 , with this provision "pending settlement over the difference that had arisen over its name." '''Slovenia''' was admitted by General Assembly Resolution A/RES/46/238 on May 22 , 1992 . Zanzibar was a member from December 16 , 1963 until April 26 , 1964 , when its seat was taken by '''Tanzania'''. The Republic Of China (Taiwan) was a member from October 24 , 1945 until October 25 , 1971 , when its seat was taken by the People's Republic Of China ( See Above ). NAMING CONVENTIONS AND NOTES Belarus was originally admitted as the "Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic" on October 24 , 1945 . It informed the United Nations of the change on September 19 , 1991 . Brunei takes its seat under the name "Brunei Darussalam." The Democratic Republic of the Congo was originally admitted as "Zaire" on September 20 , 1960 . It changed its name on May 17 , 1997 . The Republic of the Congo takes its seat under the name "Congo." Cyprus as an entire island is represented by the Republic of Cyprus, including the area administered by the Turkish Republic Of Northern Cyprus . Indonesia was admitted on September 28 , 1950 and temporarily withdrew from January 20 , 1965 through September 27 , 1966 (inclusive), due to the upheaval of Sukarno by Suharto's coup, and the annexation of Western New Guinea . It announced its intention to rejoin on September 19 , 1966 . Iran takes its seat under the name the "Islamic Republic of Iran." Laos takes its seat under the name the "Lao People's Democratic Republic." Libya takes its seat under the name "Libyan Arab Jamahiriya." Macedonia takes its seat under the name the "Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia," Due To Objections From Greece . Malaysia was originally admitted as the "Federation of Malaya" on September 17 , 1957 . Micronesia takes its seat under the name "Federated States of Micronesia." Moldova takes its seat under the name the "Republic of Moldova." Myanmar was originally admitted as "Burma" on April 19 , 1948 . The Netherlands takes its seat as the " Kingdom Of The Netherlands ." Russia takes its seat as the "Russian Federation." Syria takes its seat as the "Syrian Arab Republic." Tanzania takes its seat under the name the "United Republic of Tanzania." Ukraine was originally admitted as the "Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic" on October 24 1945 . United Kingdom takes its seat under the name the "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland." United States takes its seat under the name the "United States of America." Venezuela takes its seat under the name the "Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela." Vietnam takes its seat under the name "Viet Nam." SEE ALSO
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