The World Health Organization (WHO) has 194 member states as of 2026.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has 194 member states as of 2026. Membership is open to all UN member states (by accepting the WHO Constitution) and other countries approved by the World Health Assembly. A few sovereign or semi-sovereign entities stand outside full membership.
Key Non-Members (or Effectively Non-Participating)
- United States: Formally withdrew effective January 2026 (first major founding member to do so). The process followed a notification in 2025, and references to the US in WHO contexts are now qualified pending any further decisions.
- Liechtenstein: The only full UN member state that has never joined the WHO. It relies on neighbors (especially Switzerland) for health coordination and finds full membership unnecessary or costly given its small size.
Other Entities Often Mentioned
- Cook Islands and Niue: These are full members of WHO (and some other specialized UN agencies) despite not being UN member states. They are self-governing states in free association with New Zealand and participate as member states in WHO.
- Taiwan (Republic of China): Not a WHO member state due to political status issues related to the One China policy. It has participated in limited capacities (e.g., as an observer or under "Chinese Taipei" in certain years) but does not hold full membership.
- Holy See (Vatican City) and State of Palestine: These are non-member observer states at the UN. Palestine participates in WHO as a non-member observer (with flags and involvement in sessions). The Holy See has a distinct status but is not a full WHO member state.
Context on Numbers
WHO membership (194) exceeds the UN's 193 member states because it includes entities like the Cook Islands and Niue while excluding a few others (e.g., the US post-withdrawal and Liechtenstein). Virtually every recognized sovereign state on Earth is a WHO member or has some form of participation. The non-members are rare exceptions driven by political, historical, or practical reasons. No other widely recognized sovereign states are outside the organization.