Statistics: international organizations by type 1996/1997

Table 1
Yearbook of International Organizations 1996/1997 edition
Copyright © Union of International Associations

Types	Intergovernmental			Nongovernmental			Total
	No.	% Type	% IGO	No.	% Type	% NGO	No.	% Total
CONVENTIONAL INTERNATIONAL BODIES
A. Federations of international organizations	1	2.5	0.4	39	97.5	0.7	40	0.7
B. Universal membership organizations	36	6.8	13.9	493	93.2	9.0	529	9.2
C. Intercontinental membership organizations	37	3.5	14.2	1007	96.5	18.4	1044	18.2
D. Regionally oriented membership organizations	186	4.5	71.5	3933	95.5	71.9	4119	71.9
TOTAL "CONVENTIONAL"	260	4.5	100.0	5472	95.5	100.0	5732	100.0
OTHER INTERNATIONAL BODIES
E. Organizations emanating from places, persons, other bodies	751	27.9	47.8	1944	72.1	20.2	2695	24.0
F. Organizations of special form	743	18.7	47.3	3223	81.3	33.4	3966	35.4
G. Internationally-oriented national organizations	76	1.7	4.9	4469	98.3	46.4	4545	40.6
TOTAL "OTHER"	1570	14.0	100.0	9636	86.0	100.0	11206	100.0
TOTAL Types A-G	1830	-	-	15108	-	-	16938	-
SPECIAL TYPES
H. Dissolved or apparently inactive organizations	356	10.9	8.8	2921	89.1	12.6	3277	12.1
J. Recently reported bodies, not yet confirmed	226	13.3	5.6	1469	86.7	6.3	1695	6.2
K. Subsidiary and internal bodies	504	28.4	12.4	1270	71.6	5.5	1774	6.5
N. National organizations	13	0.4	0.3	3665	99.6	15.8	3678	13.5
R. Religious orders secular institutes	0	0	0	870	100.0	3.8	870	3.2
S. Autonomous conference series	107	16.9	2.6	526	83.1	2.3	633	2.3
T. Multilateral treaties and intergovernmental agreements	1914	100.0	47.2	0	0	0	1914	7.1
U. Currently inactive nonconventional bodies	935	7.0	23.1	12414	93.0	53.7	13349	49.1
TOTAL "SPECIAL"	4055	14.9	100.0	23135	85.1	100.0	27190	100.0

TOTAL ALL TYPES	5885	-	-	38243	-	-	44128	-

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

1. Conventional intergovernmental organizations, for those who attach 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,for those who attach importance to the existence of autonomous international bodies as a social reality.

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

4. Conventional bodies (Types A to D), special forms (Type F), and religiousorders (Type R), for those who accept the social reality of the latteras 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),for those who are interested in the international impact of semi-autonomous and nationally-ties organizations. (Documentalists might also include inactive bodies, Type H, which figure in "authority lists" of international organizations.)