NEW YORK – United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres says the UN is heading toward an “imminent financial collapse” unless countries pay what they owe and agree to update budget rules that no longer work.
In a January 28 letter to United Nations ambassadors, he said the situation is getting worse fast, putting programs at risk and threatening the United Nations basic ability to operate.
“The crisis is deepening, threatening programme delivery and risking financial collapse. And the situation will deteriorate further in the near future,” Guterres wrote. He warned that if payments don’t arrive on time, and if major fixes aren’t made, the United Nations could burn through its remaining cash by mid-2026. That could trigger deep cuts and disrupt key operations, including functions tied to the New York headquarters.
The warning lands during one of the United Nations toughest liquidity crunches in years. Late payments, rigid funding rules, and shifting politics among major donors have all tightened the squeeze.
What’s Driving It: Unpaid Dues at an All-Time High
By the end of 2025, unpaid assessments reached a record $1.568 billion, more than twice the prior year, based on Guterres’ letter and UN financial updates. The United Nations collected only about 76.7% of assessed contributions for the year. Even with aggressive cost controls, that gap left the organization short on cash.
One rule makes the problem worse. The UN must return “unspent” balances to member states at year’s end, even when some of that money was never paid in the first place. Guterres described this as a “Kafkaesque cycle.” He pointed to a recent example where the United Nations issued $227 million in credits tied to funds it never actually received. That practice drains cash that’s already scarce and keeps the liquidity crisis going.
The United Nations 2026 regular budget, set at about $3.45 billion, has been cut by roughly 7% in response to the crunch. Guterres said the cuts won’t be enough if member states don’t pay in full and on time, because the UN still may not have the cash needed to carry out the plan.
US Pullbacks and a Wider Shift Among Donors
The shortfall has grown sharper as the United States, the UN’s biggest donor, reduces support. The US covers about 22% of the regular budget and also contributes heavily to peacekeeping and voluntary programs.
Under President Donald Trump’s administration, the US has reduced voluntary funding to several UN agencies and has withheld or delayed some required payments. In early 2026, the US also said it would leave dozens of UN-linked bodies and other international groups it views as misaligned with US interests, including organizations focused on climate, health, and human rights. Those moves cut funding directly and signal a broader move away from multilateral commitments.
The US also holds the largest share of arrears, about $1.5 billion in regular budget assessments alone, including unpaid 2025 dues and older amounts. There are also gaps in peacekeeping funding, since US payments are capped at 25% even when its assessed share is higher. Combined with reduced voluntary support for agencies such as the World Food Programme, UNICEF, and WHO, the result is a deeper cash shortage for the United Nations.
Other large contributors have also fallen behind, though not at the same scale. Still, the US role draws the most attention, since it comes alongside sharp criticism from Washington about the United Nations performance and calls for reform.
Countries With Large Outstanding Balances
Guterres did not name countries in his letter. Still, United Nations financial data and reporting point to these major debtors by late 2025 or early 2026 (amounts are approximate and may include older arrears):
- United States: about $1.5 billion (by far the largest, including regular budget and peacekeeping gaps)
- China: about $192 million to $597 million (reports vary, delays appear across some assessments)
- Russia: about $72 million
- Venezuela: about $38 million (triggering loss of voting rights under Article 19)
- Mexico: about $20 million to $38 million
- Argentina: about $16 million
- Saudi Arabia: about $42 million (based on earlier figures)
Other arrears have been tied to countries such as Iran, Libya, Brazil, and several smaller states. By late 2025, only about 145 to 148 of the UN’s 193 member states had fully paid their 2025 dues. Some faced Article 19 pressure that can suspend voting rights, including Afghanistan, Bolivia, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Venezuela.
Rising Doubts About the United Nations’s Value
The UN’s money troubles are also feeding a bigger debate about trust, purpose, and performance. In many countries, public confidence in large institutions has weakened, and the United Nations often gets pulled into those same doubts.
A 2025 Pew Research Center survey reported broad frustration with how democracy works in many places. Many respondents said political leaders feel corrupt and out of touch, and those views can carry over to global bodies. In the United States, surveys often show corruption in government ranks among top concerns for more than 65% of Americans, tied to distrust of systems seen as bureaucratic or influenced by special interests.
Critics say theUnited Nations has grown too large, too political, and too slow to respond to war, climate pressure, and development needs. Some point to past scandals involving peacekeeping and claims of weak oversight in aid programs as signs of mismanagement.
There is no single global poll from 2025 to 2026 that measures how many people believe the United Nations “has lost its purpose and become corrupt.” Still, anecdotal reporting and regional polling suggest a growing minority, sometimes estimated at 40% to 60% in parts of the West, hold negative views, fueled by geopolitical conflict and fights over funding.
Guterres has said he hears those concerns and wants reforms that improve trust and efficiency. He also argues the United Nations remains a core forum for global cooperation.
Guterres urged countries to pay their assessments in full, on time, and to change rules that force the UN to return credits tied to unpaid money. Without action, he warned of a “race to bankruptcy” that could weaken peacekeeping, humanitarian relief, and sustainable development work.
As the UN reaches its 80th anniversary in 2026, the cash crisis is a major stress test. With reserves that could run dry by July, the next few months will decide whether the United Nations stabilizes its finances or faces major disruption and restructuring.
