The number of permanent members of the UN Security Council is
2017
The number of permanent members of the UN Security Council is
- A.
3
- B.
4
- C.
5
- D.
6
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
CONCEPT: Under Article 23 of the UN Charter, the UN Security Council (UNSC) is made up of 15 members in total: five permanent members holding veto power, and ten non-permanent (elected) members serving staggered two-year terms.
APPLICATION: The five permanent seats were fixed when the UN was founded in 1945, in recognition of the major Allied powers of World War II, and have remained unchanged ever since — unlike the ten non-permanent seats, which rotate through UN member states by regional election every two years, the five permanent seats cannot be voted out and each carries an individual veto over substantive Council resolutions.
CROSS-CHECK: The Security Council's own official membership listing confirms a total of 15 seats split as 5 permanent plus 10 non-permanent, so the permanent bloc's size matches the option giving a count of five.