The UN Security Council has fifteen members in 2026. Five are permanent: China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States.1United Nations. United Nations Charter – Chapter 5 The other ten are elected by the General Assembly to two-year terms and, in 2026, are Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Greece, Latvia, Liberia, Pakistan, Panama, and Somalia.2United Nations. Security Council Current Members Every UN member state is bound by Article 25 of the Charter to accept and carry out the Council’s decisions.3United Nations. Charter of the United Nations – Full Text
The Five Permanent Members
Article 23 of the UN Charter names the five countries that hold permanent seats: China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States.1United Nations. United Nations Charter – Chapter 5 They serve without term limits and without standing for election.
Two of those seats are held by countries the Charter did not originally name. Its text lists “the Republic of China” and “the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.”4United Nations. Charter of the United Nations – Article 23 In 1971, General Assembly Resolution 2758 transferred the China seat from the Republic of China (Taiwan) to the People’s Republic of China. In 1991, the Russian Federation took over the Soviet seat after the USSR dissolved, with the other former Soviet states supporting the transition and no UN member formally objecting. Neither change required a formal Charter amendment.
The Ten Elected Members in 2026
Elected members serve staggered two-year terms, so five seats turn over each January. The ten countries currently sitting divide into two cohorts by term end:2United Nations. Security Council Current Members
- Terms ending in 2026: Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama, and Somalia
- Terms ending in 2027: Bahrain, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Latvia, and Liberia
Once a country finishes its two-year term, it cannot stand for immediate re-election.1United Nations. United Nations Charter – Chapter 5 Five new members will be elected later in 2026 to replace Denmark, Greece, Pakistan, Panama, and Somalia beginning in January 2027.
How the Ten Seats Are Distributed by Region
The elected seats are allocated across regional groups under General Assembly Resolution 1991 (XVIII), adopted in 1963:
- African and Asian states: five seats
- Latin American and Caribbean states: two seats
- Western European and Other states: two seats
- Eastern European states: one seat
Regional groups coordinate informally on candidates. A “clean slate” is when a group endorses exactly as many candidates as it has open seats, in which case election is effectively guaranteed, though the General Assembly still holds a formal ballot.2United Nations. Security Council Current Members Winning any seat, contested or not, requires a two-thirds majority of General Assembly members present and voting.5United Nations. Repertory of Practice of United Nations Organs Supplement No. 6 Contested races can run through multiple rounds when no candidate clears that threshold.
Who Holds the Presidency This Year
The Council presidency rotates monthly in English alphabetical order, cycling through all fifteen members regardless of status. The president chairs formal meetings, sets the provisional agenda, and speaks publicly on behalf of the Council.6United Nations. Provisional Rules of Procedure – Chapter IV The 2026 rotation is:7United Nations. Security Council Presidency
- January: Somalia
- February: United Kingdom
- March: United States
- April: Bahrain
- May: China
- June: Colombia
- July: Democratic Republic of the Congo
- August: Denmark
- September: France
- October: Greece
- November: Latvia
- December: Liberia
Holding the presidency comes with agenda-setting influence but no extra vote. Countries often use their month to schedule open debates or thematic briefings on issues they want to elevate.
What Membership Actually Means: The Veto
The most consequential difference between permanent and elected members is the veto. Article 27(3) of the Charter requires that substantive decisions receive at least nine affirmative votes “including the concurring votes of the permanent members.”1United Nations. United Nations Charter – Chapter 5 A single “no” vote from China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, or the United States kills a substantive resolution, even if the other fourteen members support it.
Abstention is not the same as a veto. A permanent member that objects to a resolution but does not want to block it can abstain, and the resolution still passes if it draws nine affirmative votes.8United Nations. Voting System Procedural questions do not trigger the veto at all; they require nine affirmative votes from any combination of members. Elected members, then, vote on every question but cannot block substantive action on their own.