The annual budget for the core operations of the United Nations in New York is approximately $3.4 billion. But its operations obviously extend around the world, especially at times of crisis—such as now in the Middle East. Financing such expanded duties becomes another perennial challenge the U.N. is obliged to solve.
Is the United Nations Worth the Price?
The world body isn’t perfect—but you get what you pay for.
A United Nations volunteer stands in the yard of a U.N.-run school in the Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip on Oct. 18. Mohammed Faiq/AFP via Getty Images
Cameron Abadi is a deputy editor at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @CameronAbadi
Adam Tooze is a columnist at Foreign Policy and a history professor and the director of the European Institute at Columbia University. He is the author of Chartbook, a newsletter on economics, geopolitics, and history. Twitter: @adam_tooze
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