How UN salaries work
Last updated 2 August 2026
There is no single number that answers “what does the UN pay?”, and the reason is structural rather than evasive. United Nations pay in the professional and higher categories is built from two parts that move independently, and until you can see both, published figures are impossible to compare against each other or against a private-sector offer.
This page explains the structure. The current figures live in our free UN Salary Reference Table and, authoritatively, at icsc.un.org.
The two parts
Net base salary is set by grade and step and is the same everywhere in the world. Post adjustment is a percentage added on top of that base, set separately for each duty station, to equalise purchasing power across a system that employs people in New York and in Juba on the same scale.
Total cash compensation is therefore net base salary increased by the duty station’s post adjustment percentage. Two people at the same grade and the same step, in different duty stations, receive different amounts, and the system intends that.
Grades and steps
Professional grades run P-1 to P-5, and director grades D-1 and D-2 above them. Each grade contains numbered steps, and step I is the entry point at every grade.
Progression through the steps is not automatic with time. Grades P-1 to P-5 advance through six annual increments and then six biennial ones, which is why the later steps of a grade take far longer to reach than the earlier ones. D-1 begins with three annual increments before moving to a biennial cadence, and D-2 progresses biennially throughout. Every increment depends on a satisfactory performance appraisal.
The practical consequence for anyone comparing offers: a grade alone does not tell you what a post pays. A P-4 at step I and a P-4 near the top of the grade are separated by a substantial margin before post adjustment is applied at all.
Post adjustment, and why it moves
Post adjustment multipliers are published by the International Civil Service Commission and revised monthly, tracking cost of living and exchange rates at each duty station. A multiplier quoted in an article or a forum post is a snapshot, not a standing figure, and the higher the multiplier the more of the total it represents.
This is the single most common source of confusion about UN pay. A headline salary taken from one duty station will not reproduce anywhere else, and a figure quoted without its duty station and date cannot be checked.
The January revision, and what a consolidation is
The salary scale is revised each January. Periodically the revision takes the form of a consolidation: a portion of post adjustment is folded into net base salary on a no gain, no loss basis. Base salaries rise, post adjustment multipliers at every duty station fall by the same proportion, and net remuneration is unchanged.
Consolidations matter when you are reading about UN pay rather than receiving it. A report that base salaries rose by some percentage is often describing a consolidation, which changes the shape of the package and not its value. Pension entitlements are calculated on pensionable remuneration, so the shape is not irrelevant, but a consolidation is not a pay rise.
What sits on top of salary
Cash compensation understates the package for internationally recruited staff. Depending on grade, duty station, dependants and circumstances, the following may apply:
- Rental subsidy, covering part of housing costs above a threshold at eligible duty stations.
- Dependency allowance for a recognised spouse and children.
- Education grant towards schooling for internationally recruited staff with school-age children, payable up to a maximum age.
- United Nations Joint Staff Pension Fund, to which the staff member contributes a proportion of pensionable remuneration and the organisation contributes a larger share. Benefits vest after five years and are transferable on separation.
- Medical insurance for staff and recognised dependants.
- Home leave travel for staff serving outside their country of nationality.
- Hardship and mobility allowances at duty stations classified for them.
Every one of these has eligibility conditions and a current ceiling or rate, and all of them are revised. Treat the list as the shape of the package and take the values from the sources below.
Common questions
Are UN salaries tax free?
UN salaries are exempt from national income tax in most member states, which is why a UN figure is not comparable with a gross private-sector figure. United States nationals are the notable exception: they remain liable to US tax and are reimbursed by the Organization under a tax-equalisation arrangement.
What is post adjustment?
Post adjustment is a percentage added on top of net base salary to equalise purchasing power across duty stations, so that the same grade and step buys broadly the same standard of living wherever it is posted. It is expressed as a multiplier, it differs by duty station, and it is revised monthly, which is why no single figure can be quoted as the salary for a grade.
Does a P-3 in Geneva earn more than a P-3 in Nairobi?
In cash terms usually yes, because the post adjustment multiplier is higher where the cost of living is higher. In purchasing-power terms that is the point of the system rather than a premium: post adjustment exists to make the two roughly equivalent locally, not to pay one better than the other.
How many steps are there in a UN grade?
Professional grades P-1 to P-5 carry thirteen steps, reached through six annual increments followed by six biennial ones. Director grades run on a different cadence: D-1 has three annual increments and then biennial ones, and D-2 progresses biennially throughout. Every increment depends on a satisfactory performance appraisal rather than on time served alone.
Where are the actual UN salary figures?
The International Civil Service Commission publishes the authoritative salary scale and the post adjustment multipliers at icsc.un.org, and the scale is revised each January. Our free UN Salary Reference Table sets the current scale out grade by grade and step by step, with worked totals for New York, Geneva and Nairobi.
Where the figures are
Our UN Salary Reference Table is a free download, no account required. It sets out net base salary for every grade and step, worked total compensation for New York, Geneva and Nairobi, and a summary of the principal benefits, with its sources and verification date on the face of it.
The authoritative source is the International Civil Service Commission at icsc.un.org, which publishes the salary scales and the consolidated post adjustment data. The scale changes each January and multipliers change monthly, so verify there before relying on any figure, including ours.
Standard caveat: this is general information about how the pay system is built, not financial advice, and not an offer or a representation of what any particular post will pay.