Most Powerful Organizations in The World: An organization is a group of people or other legal entities that have an explicit and common purpose with laid down principles of operation. Organizations can be formed by smaller units, domestic level or at international level depending on the goal of the organization. An organization is a powerful one if it is such that has strong ties across the nation politically, economically, technologically, health-wise and elsewise. There are numerous organizations across the globe operating within their own jurisdiction while exerting their influence. It is not surprising that on the list of the most powerful organizations in the world are all international organizations.
International organizations are such organizations that have membership from across the states and whose activities are exercised at the international level. For organization to exert powerful influence in order to make the list, it has to wear international flavour by being duly constituted upon a treaty consisting of more than one nation. Here is the list of the most powerful organizations in the world.
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Top 12 Strongest And Most Powerful International Organizations in The World 2023
1. United Nations: Talking about international influence, the first organization ever and the most rated is the United Nations. It is the most popular, populous and powerful international organization across the globe. The formation of the United Nation was necessitated by the event of the Second World War in the year 1945. The goal of the organization is to foster peaceful co-existence and security at the international level and promote amongst nations particularly since the effect after the war.
The United Nations is an interstate organization which is made up of 193 nations and 2 observer nations. The UN Charter is the treaty upon which United Nation was established. The Charter is the convention that regulates the activities of the organization. The organization has six official languages which are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. The headquarters of the organization is at Manhattan, New York City. The United Nation came about after the dissolution of the League of Nations due to its perceived inefficiency.
There are six principal organs of the United Nations by the virtue of the UN Charter which are the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, the International Court of Justice, the United Nations Secretariat and the Trusteeship Council. Membership of the United Nations is open to nations who are willing to be bound by UN Charter.
2. World Trade Organization (WTO): World Trade Organization is an interstate organization whose framework regulates and facilitates the exchange of goods and capital at the international level. One of the targets of the organization is reducing tariffs and other barriers to trade.
World Trade Organization was established on 1st January, 1995 by the virtue of the Marrakesh Agreement which replaced the 1943 General Agreement Tariffs and Trade. WTO is made up of 164 members and thereby being the largest international economic organization in the world.
The official languages of the organization are English, German, French and Spanish. As at the year 2022, the Director-General of the World Trade Organization is the most renowned Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of Nigeria. The influence of the organization cuts across the globe. Its headquarters is at centre William Rappard, Geneva, Switzerland. The organization also facilitates resolution of disputes arising out of trades.
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3. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO): NATO is an interstate military alliance. It is also known as the North Atlantic Alliance. NATO is driven by the common purpose of using its military, political and other strength to ensure the security of its members. NATO’s headquarters is located in Brussels, Belgium. The organization was formed on 4th April 1949. Currently, it is composed of 30 member states.
NATO was founded upon the North Atlantic Treaty, also known as the Washington Treaty. The official languages of the organization are English and French. NATO is considered the strongest international military organization, having had impactful intervention in places like South Asia, the Middle East, Balkans and Africa and at the event preceding the dissolution of Soviet Union.
4. World Health Organization (WHO): World Health organization is a specialized agency under the UN system whose primary goal is to ensure security of public health across the globe. World Health Organization was formed on 7th April, 1948.
The headquarters of the organization is located in Geneva, Switzerland. World Health Organization is the body that sets health standard on the global level and monitors health issues across the globe. WHO has proved its relevance and contribution on the eradication of smallpox, Malaria, HIV/AIDS, Ebola Virus tuberculosis, COVID-19, heart diseases, cancer and several other diseases.
World Health Organization is considered the most powerful health organization in the world. The organization is founded upon the treaty which is the constitution of the World Health Organization. The treaty has been ratified so far by 194 nations.
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5. UNICEF: United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund, Currently known as United Nations Children’s Fund, is another powerful specialized agency under the UN system. The primary objective of the organization is to provide humanitarian supports to children across the globe by ensuring that the rate of hunger and poverty is drastically reduced, promoting good health, quality education, clean energy, sustainable cities and communities and the general well-being of people.
In fact, the impact of UNICEF cuts across everything relating to social welfare, and it is the most impactful social-cultural organization worldwide. UNICEF was established and became active on 11th December, 1946. The headquarters of the organization is located in New York.
6. Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN): ASEAN is a political and economic motivated organization in Southeast Asia. Its primary goal is to promote cooperation between sovereign states particularly as it relates to politics, military, education, security, economic, cultural and other related activities.
ASEAN is made up of 10 member states which are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines Singapore Thailand and Vietnam. The working language of the organization is English. ASEAN was established on 8th August, 1967 by the virtue of Bangkok Declaration. It is one of the most influential organizations in the world, having played prominent roles in international diplomacy, economic affairs, politics and security.
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7. International Monetary Fund (IMF): IMF, an international financial institution, is another powerful specialized agency of the UN. The purpose of the organization is to promote financial stability, sustainable economic growth, foster international trade and minimize poverty rate across the globe.
The organization was formed on 27th December, 1945 with its headquarters at Washington D.C, United States. International Monetary Fund has 190 member states. The official language of the organization is English. The Articles of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund is the treaty upon which the organization was established.
8. UNESCO: The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) is a United Nations specialized agency formed on 16th November, 1945. The primary objective of the organization is to promote world peace through education, culture, arts and sciences.
UNESCO is made up of 193 nations and 12 associate member states. UNESCO is headquartered in World Heritage Centre Paris, France. UNESCO is a part of the organization that is aimed at achieving the sustainable Development Goals.
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9. World Wide Fund for Nature: World Wide Fund for Nature, formerly World Wildlife Fund is an international and not-for profit organization whose primary purpose is to regulate the effect of human activities on the environment. The organization was established on 29th April, 1961, and its headquarters is in Switzerland.
The organization focuses its projects on environmentalism, conservation and ecology, and it employs research, consultancy and lobbying for attaining its purposes. The impact of the organization has been felt worldwide through its contributions in over 3, 000 environmental projects in over 100 countries.
10. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): Food and Agriculture Organization, founded on 16th October 1945 in Canada, is an international organization whose primary objective is to ensure food security and decrease hunger across the globe.
It is a United Nations’ specialized agency. The organization is made up of 193 members, and has its headquarters in Rome, Italy. The organization’s impact is seen through its contribution to all agricultural related activities and projects across the globe.
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11. Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD): It was established in 1961 and the headquarters is in Paris, France. This is a 38-member intergovernmental economic organization that was formed in 1961 in order to promote global trade and economic advancement. It is responsible for trade and economic activities. This is why it is among the most powerful organizations all over the world today.
Again, this organization is a forum of countries that identify themselves as committed to market economy and democracy. It is a forum where the members share experiences of policy, seek solutions to shared challenges, coordinate their domestic and international policies, and identify best practices.
12. American International Group (Incorporated): In 1919, it was first established in China as the American Asiatic Underwriters. Today, it operates worldwide (in over 90 countries). Today, AIG is the leader of the insurance sevices in America. It is based in New York. This organization saw to the business needs of a staggering companies (90 percent of the companies) on the “Fortune 500.”
Also, it insures 160 of those on Forbes’ 400 richest people in American list and deals with nine tenths of the companies on Fortune’s “Global 500” today. However, in 2014, AIG boasts $540.7 billion in assets, and ranked 42nd on Forbes’ “Global 2000”. Its market value, stands at $73.2 billion, and as at 2023, has over “88 million customers all over the world (according to the website of the firm). Today, AIG has over 64,000 global staffs.
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Conclusion
The strength of an organization is rated by its socio-cultural, political economic, security, health-wise, technological and general development impact across the globe. The UN is visibly the most powerful international organization, having birthed several other powerful international organizations in addition to its personal capacity.
Edeh Samuel Chukwuemeka, ACMC, is a lawyer and a certified mediator/conciliator in Nigeria. He is also a developer with knowledge in various programming languages. Samuel is determined to leverage his skills in technology, SEO, and legal practice to revolutionize the legal profession worldwide by creating web and mobile applications that simplify legal research. Sam is also passionate about educating and providing valuable information to people.