International organizations by type 1999/2000

Table 1
Yearbook of International Organizations 1999/2000 edition
Copyright © Union of International Associations

Types		Intergovernmental			Nongovernmental			Total
		No.	% Type	% IGO	No.		% NGO	No.	% Total
CONVENTIONAL INTERNATIONAL BODIES
A.	Federations of international organizations	1	2.63	.39	37	97.36	.63	38	.62
B.	Universal membership organizations	35	6.74	13.94	484	93.25	8.30	519	8.54
C.	Intercontinental membership organizations	35	3.20	13.94	1057	96.79	18.14	1092	17.97
D.	Regionally oriented membership organizations	180	4.06	71.73	4247	95.93	72.93	4427	72.87
	TOTAL CONVENTIONAL	251	4.13	100.00	5825	95.87	100.00	6076	100.00
OTHER INTERNATIONAL BODIES
E.	Organizations emanating from places or persons or other bodies	775	26.60	48.81	2138	73.39	19.00	2913	22.68
F.	Organizations of special form	724	16.95	45.59	3547	83.04	31.52	4271	33.26
G.	Internationally oriented national organizations	89	1.57	5.60	5567	98.42	49.48	5656	44.06
	TOTAL OTHER	1588	12.36	100.00	11252	87.64	100.00	12840	100.00
	TOTAL Types A to G	1839	-	-	17077	-	-	18916	-
SPECIAL TYPES
H.	Dissolved or apparently inactive organizations	460	11.43	10.05	3563	88.56	13.25	4023	12.78
J.	Recently reported bodies - not yet confirmed	170	15.93	3.71	897	84.06	3.33	1067	3.39
K.	Subsidiary and internal bodies	560	29.27	12.23	1353	70.72	5.03	1913	6.08
N.	National organizations	0	0	0	3370	100	12.53	3370	10.71
R.	Religious orders and secular institutes	0	0	0	893	100	3.32	893	2.83
S.	Autonomous conference series	113	17.25	2.46	542	82.74	2.01	655	2.08
T.	Multilateral treaties and intergovernmental agreements	2028	100	44.35	0	0	0	2028	6.44
U.	Currently inactive nonconventional bodies	1245	7.11	27.20	16263	92.88	60.53	17508	55.69
	TOTAL SPECIAL	4576	14.54	100.00	26881	85.46	100.00	31457	100.00
	TOTAL ALL TYPES	6415	-	-	43958	-	-	50373	-

This table suggests different answers to the question "How many international organizations are there?"

1. Conventional intergovernmental organizations, when attaching importance to the non-existence of international non-governmental organizations in terms of international law. (Multilateral treaties, Type T, might be added as closely related international "instruments".)

2. Conventional international bodies, both governmental and non-governmental, when attaching importance to the existence of autonomous international bodies as a social reality.

3. Conventional bodies (Types A to D) plus special forms (Type F), when recognizing the importance of organizational substitutes and unconventional form. (To the latter might be added conference series, Type S, and multilateral treaties, Type T, as forms of organization substitute.)

4. Conventional bodies (Types A to D), special forms (Type F) and religious orders (Type R), when attaching importance to the social reality of the latter as independent actors.

5. Conventional bodies (Types A to D), other international bodies (Types E to G), religious orders (Type R), and multilateral treaties (Type T), when recognizing the international impact of semi-autonomous and nationally tied organizations. (Documentalists might also include inactive bodies, Type H, which figure in the "authority lists" of international organizations.)

* Note that Types N and U are not printed in this edition.