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Research Paper

Running on Empty: Arrears, Austerity and the United Nations Budget in 2026

MER/26/D06 · Meridian Research Team ·

Running on Empty: Arrears, Austerity and the United Nations Budget in 2026

The United Nations entered 2026 with its reserves exhausted and the largest opening balance of unpaid regular-budget assessments in five years. It cut its budget by about 15% and its staffing by nearly 19%, and in mid-year it still had to borrow from its own reserve funds to keep paying its bills. By the end of September, more Member States had paid in full and unpaid regular-budget contributions had fallen, but peacekeeping arrears rose to US$4.1 billion and a single Member State accounted for most of what was owed. This paper uses the Secretariat's October 2026 financial briefing and the opening debate on the 2027 budget to assess whether the Organization's financial footing is stabilising.

Key points

  • Unpaid regular-budget assessments stood at US$1,462 million on 30 September 2026, down from US$1,870 million a year earlier, and 141 Member States had paid in full, against 136 in 2025 [1; 2, charts 3, 8].
  • The United States owed US$1,312 million of the unpaid regular-budget total, about 90% (Meridian calculation), and US$2,956 million of the US$4,108 million owed to peacekeeping [2, charts 8, 13].
  • The Secretariat borrowed the full Working Capital Fund in June and drew on its Special Account by July before September collections allowed the loans to be repaid [1].
  • The 2026 regular budget of US$3.45 billion cut resources by about 15% and staffing by nearly 19%, with 2,900 positions abolished from 1 January 2026 [4].
  • The Secretary-General's proposed 2027 budget is US$3.302 billion, about 1.2% below 2026, but the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions (ACABQ) estimates that total 2027 requirements could reach about US$3.6 billion once separate proposals are included [5; 6].

1. The problem

The UN regular budget pays for the Secretariat, political and humanitarian coordination, human rights work and special political missions. Peacekeeping is financed separately, through assessments set for each mission. Both depend on Member States paying their assessed contributions in full and on time. When large contributors pay late or not at all, the Organization cannot spend what the General Assembly has approved, and it falls back on limited reserves.

In 2026 that dependency became acute. The Secretariat began the year having already exhausted its reserves [1], and the General Assembly approved a sharply reduced budget for the year [4]. The question for 2027 is whether the cuts and recent payments mark a stabilisation or simply a smaller organisation exposed to the same risk.

2. The evidence

A record hole at the start of the year. On 1 January 2026 the unpaid regular-budget balance carried over from previous years was US$1,568 million, which the Secretariat describes as the highest opening balance of unpaid assessments in the past five years [2, chart 3]. The Group of 77 and China, speaking in the Fifth Committee, called it a record [3]. By comparison, the opening balance was US$760 million in 2025 and US$434 million in 2022 [2, chart 3].

A smaller budget. On 30 December 2025 the General Assembly approved a 2026 regular budget of US$3.45 billion, reflecting a proposal that cut resources by 15% and staffing by nearly 19%; 2,900 positions were to be abolished from 1 January 2026 and more than 1,000 separations had been finalised [4]. Assessments issued for 2026 were US$233 million lower than for 2025, at US$3,263 million [1; 2, chart 3].

Borrowing to stay solvent. The Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance told the Fifth Committee on 7 October that collections ran ahead of forecast in the first two quarters, but the Secretariat still had to borrow the full Working Capital Fund in June and draw on the Special Account by July [1]. Larger than expected collections in September then allowed those loans to be repaid [1]. Combined General Fund cash, including both reserves, stood at US$853 million on 30 September 2026 [2, chart 2]. The Secretariat also returned US$299 million in credits to Member States in 2026 [1; 2, chart 3].

Better payment, concentrated arrears. Payments received by 30 September were US$983 million higher than a year earlier, and US$982 million of the roughly US$3.4 billion collected related to delayed outstanding contributions [1]. The number of Member States paying in full by that date rose to 141, tying the 2018 and 2024 records for that date since tracking began in 2001; 52 had yet to pay in full [1]. The remaining debt is highly concentrated.

Unpaid regular-budget assessments at 30 September (US$ million)20221,16820231,34620241,50120251,87020261,462
Figure 1. Unpaid assessed contributions to the UN regular budget on 30 September of each year, US$ million. Source: United Nations, Financial situation of the United Nations, 7 October 2026, chart 3 [2].

Of the US$1,462 million unpaid on 30 September, the United States owed US$1,312 million, followed by Venezuela (US$40 million), Saudi Arabia (US$35 million, paid in full after the cut-off date), Mexico (US$33 million) and Iran (US$11 million) [1; 2, chart 8]. A year earlier, Member States other than the United States had owed US$375 million; by September 2026 that figure had fallen to US$150 million (Meridian calculation) [2, chart 8].

Peacekeeping moves the other way. Unpaid peacekeeping assessments reached US$4,108 million on 30 September 2026, against US$3,731 million a year earlier and US$1,832 million in 2024 [2, chart 10]. Of this, about US$3.4 billion related to active missions and almost US$682 million to closed missions [1]. The United States owed US$2,956 million and China US$679 million [2, chart 13]. Peacekeeping collections in the first quarter of the July–June peacekeeping year were about US$1.4 billion, similar to 2025 but well below the US$2.7 billion of payments and credits in the same period of 2024, and only 48 Member States had paid their peacekeeping assessments in full, six fewer than a year earlier [1]. The Secretariat nevertheless reported that its liabilities to Member States for troops and formed police units had been settled in full, as had contingent-owned equipment claims for active missions, which stood at US$333 million a year earlier [1].

The 2027 budget. On 13 October the Secretary-General presented a proposed 2027 regular budget of US$3.302 billion with 11,150 posts, or US$3.408 billion including major construction projects [5; 6]. The proposal is about 1.2%, or US$40.8 million, below the approved 2026 level; the Secretariat has absorbed a reduction of 3,116 regular-budget posts, and the proposal would abolish or downgrade 14 senior posts [5; 6]. He warned that "efficiency alone cannot compensate for an unstable financial foundation" [5]. The ACABQ chair described the proposal as a 4.3% decrease on the 2026 appropriation, but said total requirements could reach about US$3.6 billion, 4.5% above 2026, once separately submitted proposals are added [6]. The two percentages appear to use different baselines, and the documents examined for this paper do not reconcile them. Remarks from this debate are taken from an automated, unofficial UN transcript [6]. In the same debate, Cuba regretted that the Committee for Programme and Coordination had made no recommendations on any of the 28 programmes it reviewed [6].

3. Analysis

The following assessments are Meridian analysis based on the evidence above.

First, the regular budget has stabilised, but at a lower level. Unpaid contributions have fallen, more states are paying in full and the mid-year loans were repaid [1; 2]. That improvement followed a budget that is far smaller in staff and resources [4]. Stability has been bought largely by cutting what the Organization does.

Second, the risk is now concentrated in one payer. Nearly nine-tenths of unpaid regular-budget contributions and almost three-quarters of unpaid peacekeeping contributions are owed by the United States [2, charts 8, 13]. Arrears owed by others fell sharply over the year. The Organization's liquidity therefore depends heavily on decisions in one capital, a concern reflected in the Group of 77 and China's statement that it "firmly reject[s] the unilateral and persistent withholding of contributions as a means of exerting pressure on the Organization" [3].

Third, peacekeeping is the weaker flank. Its arrears more than doubled between September 2024 and September 2026 [2, chart 10], while early-year collections were roughly half their 2024 level [1]. This adds a financial dimension to the contraction in peacekeeping examined in MER/26/B01, and to the retreat in official development assistance described in MER/26/D03.

Fourth, the 2027 debate will be about baselines as much as money. One reading shows a cut and another an increase [5; 6]. Without agreed programme recommendations [6], negotiations in the Fifth Committee are likely to be difficult.

4. Assessment

  • The UN's regular-budget finances improved in 2026, but on a reduced base and with reserves still being drawn on during the year [1; 2; 4].
  • Arrears are now concentrated in a single Member State, making the Organization's liquidity highly sensitive to one government's payment decisions [2].
  • Peacekeeping finances deteriorated even as regular-budget finances improved [1; 2].
  • Indicators to watch: the General Assembly's decision on the 2027 budget, end-year collections for 2026, payments by the largest contributor and peacekeeping cash through the 2026/27 peacekeeping year.

References

  1. C. Pollard, Under-Secretary-General for Management Strategy, Policy and Compliance, "Financial situation of the United Nations", statement to the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly at its 81st session, 7 October 2026. https://static.un.org/en/ga/contributions/Statement%20October%202026.pdf (accessed 28 October 2026).
  2. United Nations, "Financial situation of the United Nations", presentation to the Fifth Committee, 7 October 2026. https://static.un.org/en/ga/contributions/Presentation%20October%202026.pdf (accessed 28 October 2026).
  3. Group of 77 and China, statement on agenda item 140, "Improving the financial situation of the United Nations", Fifth Committee, 19 October 2026. https://www.g77.org/statement/getstatement.php?id=261019 (accessed 28 October 2026).
  4. UN News, "General Assembly approves $3.45 billion UN regular budget for 2026", 30 December 2025. https://news.un.org/en/story/2025/12/1166685 (accessed 28 October 2026).
  5. UN News, "'Need for UN has never been greater,' UN chief says, proposing slimmer $3.3 billion budget for 2027", 13 October 2026. https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/10/1168586 (accessed 28 October 2026).
  6. United Nations, Fifth Committee, 81st session, 5th meeting, 13 October 2026, automated speech-recognition transcript (unofficial). https://transcripts.un.org/en/ga/c5/81/5 (accessed 28 October 2026).