UN Membership by type of economy (1945–1977)
Date: 25 May 2025
Data source: Commission on Transnational Corporations (1978) 'Transnational Corporations in World Development: A Re-Examination' E/C.10/38, p. 206.
Funding: Part of a European Research Council (ERC)-grant, ECOINT, Grant No 885285
These two semi-circular charts depict the evolution of UN membership from 1945 to 1977, based on data published by the UN Commission on Transnational Corporations in its 1978 report Transnational Corporations in World Development: A Re-Examination (E/C.10/38, p. 206).
The visualisations use the language of the 1978-Report and the report’s original classification of member states into economic and regional groupings.
Chart 1 shows the distribution by economic system (developed market economies, socialist countries, developing countries).
Chart 2 zooms in on the regional composition of the category 'developing countries' (Western Hemisphere, Africa, West Asia, South and Southeast Asia).
Data source: Commission on Transnational Corporations (1978) 'Transnational Corporations in World Development: A Re-Examination' E/C.10/38, p. 206.
Funding: Part of a European Research Council (ERC)-grant, ECOINT, Grant No 885285
These two semi-circular charts depict the evolution of UN membership from 1945 to 1977, based on data published by the UN Commission on Transnational Corporations in its 1978 report Transnational Corporations in World Development: A Re-Examination (E/C.10/38, p. 206).
The visualisations use the language of the 1978-Report and the report’s original classification of member states into economic and regional groupings.
Chart 1 shows the distribution by economic system (developed market economies, socialist countries, developing countries).
Chart 2 zooms in on the regional composition of the category 'developing countries' (Western Hemisphere, Africa, West Asia, South and Southeast Asia).
- The percentage above the blocks show the group's share of total membership in the given year.
- Hover over the blocks and see a) the total number of countries in the category, 2) the change in the number of countries compared to the previous recorded year, 3) the note provided in the 1978-Report.
- Click on a year below each chart to view how the composition of UN membership changed over time.