how many countries are members of security council
List of members of the United Nations Security Council As of July 2011, there are currently 193 members of the United Nations and five permanent members of the Security Council. The other ten seats are assigned amongst the remaining 188 members. As a result, many members have never been on the Security Council. The following list is a summary of all countries, currently 68 modern nations[37] and three historical ones, that have never been a member of the United Nations Security Council. The three historical UN members listed are Tanganyika, Zanzibar, and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
United Nations Security Council veto power The United Nations Security Council "veto power" refers to the power of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States) to veto any "substantive" resolution. A permanent member's abstention or absence does not prevent a draft resolution from being adopted. However, the veto power does not apply to "procedural" votes, as determined by the permanent members themselves. A permanent member can also block the selection of a Secretary-General, although a formal veto is unnecessary since the vote is taken behind closed doors.