Note on country contributions to the UN's budget UN member state contributions are divided into obligatory and voluntary payments. The former are based on a state's relative ability to pay, with poor countries paying significantly reduced rates. The US, which would pay for over 30% of the UN's core budget according to global income distribution, has negotiated a cap on its payments with the UN. It therefore is supposed to contribute 22% of the budget. Contributions by least-developed countries are capped at O.01%. The top five contributors are: US (22%), Japan, (12.5%), Germany (8.01%), UK (6.6%) and France (6.1). For peacekeeping contributions, additional deductions are made to poor countries, and the five permanent members of the Security Council are asked to pay more, to reflect their role in authorising missions. The top five contributors are: US (27.1%), Japan (12.5%), UK 8.146%) Germany (8.01%) and France (7.5%).