Budget & Strategy
The Financial Reports and Audited Financial Statements provide the Organization Financial performance. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) since 2010 and the External Auditor expressed an unqualified (clean) opinion on the financial statements for each year end reports. Further information on budget and audit outcomes are also available in this section.
UNESCO's Budget
UNESCO adopts a budget on a two-years basis. Adjusted budget as of June 2022 for 1,5 billion US$ (including needed fundraising). The official documentation is available here.
UNESCO budget is based on an integrated budget framework, which allows greater transparency and alignment of resources.
In 2021, the amount of arrears and total debt from non-member states to the organization is over 624 million US$
The Approved Programme and Budget for 2022-2025 (41 C/5) reflects a strong and renewed ambition for UNESCO at a time when the United Nations system as a whole must mobilize at all levels throughout the decade of action to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Drawn up in the context of a global health emergency with multiple, long-term consequences, this document conveys a message of unity, mobilization and recovery in the Organization’s fields of competence with a view to providing innovative and appropriate responses to contemporary challenges.
For the first time since the 1990s, extreme poverty is on the rise again, with a projected 71 million more people forced into extreme poverty in 2020 alone. Furthermore, UNESCO estimates that nearly 1.6 billion learners are or have been affected by school and university closures due to the health crisis, causing the most serious disruption to education in history.
The past year of crisis has illustrated, more than ever before, the crucial importance of quality education, universal access to information and scientific data, the promotion of inclusion and fight against discrimination, greater support for the cultural and creative sector and cultural professions and the media, and free and independent journalism.
UNESCO Financial Statements
Financial Statements for the year ending 31 December 2021 here
UNESCO Staff at a glance
As of June 2021, UNESCO employs 2 293 staff Members. 51 % of the staff work in the field and in Category 1 Institutes. 64% of UNESCO staff are on Regular programme funds.
