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Member States | CERN Skip to main content CERN Accelerating science Sign in Directory Toggle navigation About CERN At CERN, we probe the fundamental structure of particles that make up everything around us. We do so using the world's largest and most complex scientific instruments. Know more Who we are Our Mission Our Governance Our Member States Our History Our People What we do Fundamental research Contribute to society Environmentally responsible research Bring nations together Inspire and educate Fast facts and FAQs Key Achievements Key achievements submenu The Higgs Boson The W boson The Z boson The Large Hadron Collider The Birth of the web Antimatter News Featured news, updates, stories, opinions, announcements CERN Council decides to conclude cooperation ... At CERN News 15 December, 2023 CERN publishes its environment report for 202... Knowledge sharing News 4 December, 2023 Exotic atomic nucleus sheds light on the worl... 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Physics News 10 November, 2023 Latest news News Accelerators At CERN Computing Engineering Experiments Knowledge sharing Physics Events Webcasts CERN Community News and announcements Official communications Events Scientists News Events Press Room Press Room submenu Media News Resources Contact Science Science The research programme at CERN covers topics from kaons to cosmic rays, and from the Standard Model to supersymmetry Know more Physics Antimatter Dark matter The early universe The Higgs boson The Standard Model + More Accelerators CERN's accelerators The Antiproton Decelerator The Large Hadron Collider High-Luminosity LHC + More Engineering Accelerating: radiofrequency cavities Steering and focusing: magnets and superconductivity Circulating: ultra-high vacuum Cooling: cryogenic systems Powering: energy at CERN + More Computing The CERN Data Centre The Worldwide LHC Computing Grid CERN openlab Open source for open science The birth of the web + More Experiments ALICE ATLAS CMS LHCb + More Resources Featured resources CERN Courier Nov/Dec 2023 Courier Physics 1 November, 2023 High-Luminosity LHC images Image Accelerators 20 June, 2018 LHC Facts and Figures Brochure Knowledge sharing 10 May, 2022 See all resources By Topic Accelerators At CERN Computing Engineering Experiments Knowledge sharing Physics By format 360 image Annual report Brochure Bulletin Courier Image Video + More By audience CERN community Educators General public Industry Media Scientists Students + More search E.G. BIRTH OF WEB, LHC PAGE 1, BULLETIN... E.G. BIRTH OF WEB, LHC... Search Search | en enfr Our Member States CERN is run by 23 Member States, and many non-European countries are involved in different ways Our Member States CERN is run by 23 Member States, and many non-European countries are involved in different ways Our Member States CERN is run by 23 Member States, and many non-European countries are involved in different ways Our Member States CERN is run by 23 Member States, and many non-European countries are involved in different ways Our Member States CERN is run by 23 Member States, and many non-European countries are involved in different ways prevnext The CERN convention was signed in 1953 by the 12 founding states Belgium, Denmark, France, the Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Yugoslavia, and entered into force on 29 September 1954. The Organization was subsequently joined by Austria (1959), Spain (1961-1969, re-joined 1983), Portugal (1985), Finland (1991), Poland (1991), Czechoslovak Republic (1992), Hungary (1992), Bulgaria (1999), Israel (2014), Romania (2016) and Serbia (2019). The Czech Republic and Slovak Republic re-joined CERN after their mutual independence in 1993. Yugoslavia left CERN in 1961. What does membership mean? Member States have special duties and privileges. They make a contribution to the capital and operating costs of CERN’s programmes, and are represented in the Council, responsible for all important decisions about the Organization and its activities. Who are our Member States? Today CERN has 23 Member States: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom. Cyprus, Estonia and Slovenia are Associate Member States in the pre-stage to Membership. Croatia, India, Latvia, Lithuania, Pakistan, Türkiye and Ukraine are Associate Member States. Who has Observer status? Japan and the United States of America hold Observer status with respect to the LHC, while the United States of America also holds Observer status with respect to the HL-LHC. The international organisations European Union and UNESCO currently have Observer status at CERN. The Observer status of the Russian Federation is suspended in accordance with the CERN Council Resolution of 8 March 2022. The Observer status of JINR is suspended in accordance with the CERN Council Resolution of 25 March 2022. Over 600 institutes and universities around the world use CERN’s facilities. Funding agencies from both Member and Non-Member States are responsible for the financing, construction and operation of the experiments on which they collaborate. CERN spends much of its budget on building machines such as the Large Hadron Collider and it only partially contributes to the cost of the experiments. Can non-members join CERN? Non-Member States with international co-operation agreements with CERN include Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bolivia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Egypt, Georgia, Iceland, Iran, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, Malta, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, North Macedonia, Palestine, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United States and Vietnam. The Observer status of the Russian Federation is suspended in accordance with the CERN Council Resolution of 8 March 2022. CERN also has scientific contacts with Bahrain, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ghana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Ireland, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Oman, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Rwanda, Singapore, Sudan, Taiwan, Tanzania, Uzbekistan and Zambia. How else do Member States exchange information? Thematic forums bring together experts from CERN and Member States to exchange information and develop coherent strategies. Associate Member States may also participate. Existing forums are: Industrial liaison officer (ILO) forum provides advice on doing business with CERN and supports firms in their local regions. Knowledge transfer (KT) forum transfers CERN’s knowledge to science, technology and industry. Scientific computing forum explores requirements and solutions for data-intense computing applications of publicly funded research. Teacher and student forum focuses on pre-university educational activities. There are also recognised networks with their own governance: European Particle Physics Communication Network (EPPCN) is a network of communication specialists. International Particle Physics Outreach Group (IPPOG) is a worldwide network for scientific education and outreach.   Learn more about CERN's international relations here This website uses cookies that are either necessary or that measure website performance.Privacy policyCookie documentationSettingsAccept only necessaryAccept all Follow Us v J W M 1 Find us Contact us Getting here   CERN Esplanade des Particules 1 P.O. Box 1211 Geneva 23 Switzerland CERN & You Doing business with CERN Knowledge transfer CERN's neighbours CERN & Society Foundation Partnerships Alumni General Information Careers Visits Privacy policy Cookies Consent Management Copyright  © 2024 CERN