Are industrialized countries paying too much?
When the States contributing to the UN regular budget are ranked by the amount of their contribution, it is clear that a small number of countries are assessed a large share of the costs – reflecting their larger share of world income. If other criteria are used, however, a different picture emerges. If we look at per capita contributions, for example, we see three smaller countries and four Nordic States among the top contributors. A large share of the money that some major industrialized countries give to the UN system returns to them in terms of the money the UN spends in their countries on materials purchased, salaries and operating expenses. Of the $3.7 billion in goods and services purchased by the entire UN system in 2000, 64 per cent came from industrialized countries, totalling nearly $2.4 billion. U.S. companies received $527 million of this – more than double that of the next largest provider of goods and services, and far more than most Member States.
