What countries won seats on the UN Security Council in 2026?

Portugal Business News - Valerie Charoux
4 hours ago
3 min read

Defence News World - Here are the countries that won seats on the UN Security Council in 2026 on June 3, 2026, as well as the countries that have non-permanent seats in 2026 and 2027:

A dramatic moment at the UN Security Council saw multiple rounds of voting for the competitive seats, amid widening geopolitical divisions and repeated deadlock within the UN body dedicated to resolving conflicts and preventing wars from erupting in the first place.

Five countries were elected by the UN General Assembly that counts 193 members to serve as non-permanent members of the Security Council for a two-year term beginning on 1 January 2027.

Here are the countries that won seats on the UN Security Council in 2026:

1 - Austria

Austria won a seat on the UN Security Council during the 2026 elections among seats that are allocated to the Western European and other States (WEOG) Group.

Austria has previous UN Council experience having already served three times before.

2 - Kyrgyzstan

Kyrgyzstan won a seat on the UN Security Council during the 2026 elections among seats that are allocated to the Asia-Pacific Group.

The election marks a historic milestone for Kyrgyzstan, which will serve on the Security Council for the first time since joining the United Nations in 1992.

3 - Portugal

Portugal won a seat on the UN Security Council during the 2026 elections among seats that are allocated to the Western European and other States (WEOG) Group.

Portugal and Austria prevailed in the first round, receiving 134 and 131 votes respectively – comfortably above the required two-thirds majority.

Portugal has previous UN Council experience having already served three times before.

4 - Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago won a seat on the UN Security Council during the 2026 elections among seats that are allocated to the Latin American Group.

Trinidad and Tobago has previous UN Council experience having already served once before.

5 - Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe won a seat on the UN Security Council during the 2026 elections among seats that are allocated to the African Group.

Zimbabwe has previous UN Council experience having already served twice before.

How many members are there on the UN Security Council?

The UN Security Council has 15 member states, with five permanent members and ten non-permanent members elected for staggered two-year terms with seats that are distributed among regional groups to ensure geographical representation.