Quiz: 15 questions about the UN

15 questions about Switzerland's 15 years at the UN. Good luck!

Woodrow Wilson Memorial Sphere in front the Palais des Nations in Geneva.
Woodrow Wilson Memorial Sphere in front the Palais des Nations, home of the UN Office at Geneva. © Keystone/imageBROKER/Kim Petersen

1. Was Switzerland the 100th, 190th or 156th state to become a member of the UN?

a) 100
b) 190
c) 156

2. Which of these states is not a full member of the UN?

a) Peru
b) Tuvalu
c) The Vatican

3. Where are the UN's headquarters located?

a) Geneva
b) Rome
c) New York

4. Which member of the Federal Council gave the maiden speech on the occasion of Switzerland’s accession to UN?

a) Kaspar Villiger
b) Micheline Calmy-Rey
c) Didier Burkhalter

5. How many times did Swiss voters vote on whether Switzerland should join the UN?

a) three times
b) twice
c) once

6. What percentage of the UN budget does Switzerland pay? (in the 2016–2018 period)

a) 10.925 %
b) 5.245 %
c) 1.140 %

7. What was the main reason why the Swiss people originally rejected UN membership?

a) Fear of loss of neutrality
b) Rising costs
c) Limited benefit

8. How many of the approximately 120,000 UN peacekeeping troops does Switzerland provide (as at June 2017)

a) 87
b) 36
c) 122

9. Was Switzerland a member of the League of Nations, the predecessor of the UN?

a) Yes
b) No

10. How does UN voting work?

a) Each member state has one vote, regardless of its size or population.
b) Votes depend on how much a country contrib-utes to the UN.
c) The 20 biggest countries have two votes, all others one.

11. What does UN stand for?

a) The United Nations
b) The Unified Nations
c) The United States

12. What is the name of the current UN Secretary-General?

a) Kofi Annan
b) Ban Ki Moon
c) António Guterres

13. When was the UN founded?

a) 1945
b) 1884
c) 1956

14. The UN has six official languages. Which of these is not one of them?

a) Japanese
b) Spanish
c) French

15. What is the UN's main goal?

a) To strengthen economic cooperation
b) To provide military support to its member states in the event of war
c) To protect people from war

Answers

1b: 190
2c: The Vatican
3c: New York
4a: Kaspar Villiger
5b: Twice
6c: 1.140%
7a: Fear of loss of neutrality
8b: 36
9a: Yes
10a: Each member state has one vote
11a: The United Nations
12c: António Guterres
13a: 1945
14a Japanese
15c: To protect people from war

Last update 12.03.2024

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