- Established October 24, 1945
- The name, "United Nations" was coined by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the "Declaration by United Nations" of January 1, 1942 when 26 countries pledged to continue fighting against the Axis Powers
- The U.N. is headquartered in New York City
- Membership includes 189 nations
- Originally began with 51 countries
- The nation of Tuvalu is the most recent member to be added to the U.N.
- U.N. is comprised of six major organs; The General Assembly, The Security Council, The Economic and Social Council, The Trusteeship Council, The Secretariat, and the International Court of Justice
- The five permanent members of the Security Council are China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States
- Some 52,100 people work in the U.N. system, which includes the Secretariat and 29 other organizations
- The U.N. has its own post office originating its own stamps
- The current U.S. ambassador to the U.N. is Richard C. Holbrooke
- The U.S. has sent 23 ambassadors to the U.N. since its formation
- The U.N. uses six languages in all meetings and documents, those are: Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish, and Arabic
- The current Secretary-General of the United Nations is Kofi Annan of Ghana. He is elected by the General Assembly to a five-year term.