UN faces funding crunch as China, US delay billions in contributions

The United Nations, born from the wreckage of the Second World War with a mandate to preserve peace, uphold human rights, and tackle global challenges, is facing a financial strain of its own. The organisation’s ability to function has come under pressure as major contributors, led by China and the United States, delay settling their annual dues, forcing the UN to cut spending and postpone priorities, according to a report by the Financial Times.

 

China, now the second-largest contributor to the UN budget, has been delaying its payments, stretching from a two-month delay in 2021 to nearly 10 months at the end of 2024.

 

In its latest cycle, Beijing cleared the final installment of its $480 million contribution on December 27, just days before the year closed. Only North Korea, which settled $157,000 on December 30, paid later.

 

Budget cuts amid delayed payments

 

The UN was forced to scale back spending on its regular operations in the 2025 budget by 17 per cent, or about $600 million, the Financial Times quoted UN Controller Chandramouli Ramanathan as saying.

 

The organisation runs on two main funding streams: assessed contributions, which are binding payments covering the $3.7 billion regular budget and $5.6 billion peacekeeping budget; and voluntary contributions, which form the bulk of funding for humanitarian and development agencies.

 

China’s rising share in UN financing 

China’s share of the regular budget has increased significantly in the past two decades, from 0.99 per cent in 2000 to 20 per cent in 2025, amounting to $680 million. That puts it just behind the United States, whose assessed share stands at 22 per cent.

 

As of April 30, UN data showed that the US owed about $1.5 billion and China $597 million in unpaid contributions to the 2025 regular budget. On the peacekeeping side, the US owed another $1.5 billion while China owed $587 million.

 

And China is not the only country with a record of late payments. The US regularly defers its contributions to align with its fiscal calendar. A Pew Research Center study found that only 53 of the UN’s 193 members had consistently paid on time every year since 2019. At the end of 2024, UN records showed 41 members were in arrears.

 

UN accounting rules state that unspent funds, even if received late, are carried over to offset dues for the following year. While this protects members from losing credit for delayed payments, it leaves the organisation underfunded during the year.

 

China’s response and limited voluntary support 

The report cited China’s UN mission as saying that the delays caused by procedural reasons were not comparable to the “long-term failure of the largest contributor to pay a massive amount".

 

Despite its growing assessed contributions, China’s voluntary funding for UN humanitarian agencies remains relatively low compared to its economic size. In 2023, Washington contributed $13 billion to the UN system, three-quarters of it voluntary. Beijing provided $2.3 billion, of which only $150 million was voluntary.

 

The funding delays come as China seeks greater influence within the UN, including through senior appointments and structural changes in agencies. Beijing has criticised the US for late payments and for moves such as withdrawing from the World Health Organization and Human Rights Council during the Trump administration.