The United Nations faces financial collapse within months. The country responsible for nearly all of its unpaid bills just covered a fraction of what it owes.
The Trump administration paid approximately $160 million toward U.S. arrears to the UN’s regular budget, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric confirmed on February 19. Washington owes $2.19 billion to that budget alone. Peacekeeping debts push the total past $4 billion.
The U.S. made no regular budget payments in 2025, accumulating $827 million in arrears for that year. It owes another $767 million for 2026.
Secretary-General António Guterres sounded the alarm on January 28 in a letter to all 193 member states. He warned that regular budget cash could run out by July unless collections improved drastically. The UN closed 2025 with $1.57 billion in outstanding dues — more than double the prior year.
Only 55 countries met the February 8 payment deadline. UN officials confirmed the United States accounts for more than 95 percent of what is owed.
The General Assembly approved a $3.45 billion budget for 2026. That figure dropped seven percent from the prior year. The organization cut staffing by 18.8 percent. Guterres launched the UN80 reform initiative to consolidate operations, but warned that efficiency gains cannot offset uncollected revenue.
A structural flaw compounds the crisis. UN rules require the organization to return unspent funds to member states — including money it never received. Guterres called it a “Kafkaesque cycle.” The UN faces returning over $400 million in credits in 2027. Peacekeeping returns could reach $900 million.
The payment disclosure landed the same day Trump convened the inaugural Board of Peace, a new initiative critics view as a rival to the Security Council. “We’re going to help them money-wise, and we’re going to make sure the United Nations is viable,” Trump said at the meeting.
U.S. Ambassador Mike Waltz signaled the payment two weeks earlier, telling reporters a “significant down payment” was coming. He praised Guterres’ reforms as “an important first step” but said they didn’t go far enough. Trump signed a spending bill that includes $3.1 billion for U.S. dues to the UN and other international organizations, though that figure does not address existing arrears.
Guterres steps down in December. All 193 member states voted to approve the 2026 budget. The largest funder skipped a full year of payments, then returned with four cents on the dollar five months before the cash runs out.
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