have undergone significant fluctuations over the last
decade. This is reflected in the basic statistics and data compiled below:
Of the 54 operations set up since 1948, two thirds (36) have been established since 1991. During the
same period, 29 operations have completed their mandates.
Eight peacekeeping operations were active in the beginning of 1991. With the rise in demand for
United Nations peacekeeping, particularly in the Balkans and Africa, the number of operations
increased to 18 by the middle of 1994. The numbers since have remained fairly steady, hovering
between 14 and 17. Some operations have closed but new ones have opened. There are 15
peacekeeping operations as of the end of 2000.
Over the past decade, the deployment of the military and civilian police has been subjected to wide
fluctuations. The decade began with relatively low levels of military and civilian police deployments,
with a total strength of approximately 10,000 in the beginning of 1991. The strengths soared and
reached their peak at approximately 78,000 in 1993, largely due to the expansions in the United
Nations operations in Somalia (UNOSOM II) and the United Nations Protection Force in the former
Yugoslavia (UNPROFOR). In late 1994, UNPROFOR alone had nearly 40,000 troops.
In 1995, the numbers of peacekeeping personnel declined sharply, mainly as a result of the end of
mandates of UNOSOM II in March and UNPROFOR in December. As of January 1996, the total
deployment of the military and civilian police personnel stood at approximately 29,000, less than half
of its previous levels. These numbers continued to decline from 1996 until the middle of 1999 when
they dropped to approximately 12,000. The trend was reversed towards the latter part of 1999 with
the deployment of large missions in Kosovo, East Timor and Sierra Leone. The total military and
civilian police strength stands at approximately 38,000 at the end of 2000.
Anoticeable trend during the 1990s has been the growing participation of civilian police in
peacekeeping operations. The United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC)
employed approximately 3,500 civilian police in 1992-1993. The numbers hovered between 1,000 and
3,000 since the end of the Cambodian operation, but began to increase in the latter part of 1999 and
stand at nearly 8,000 at the end of 2000.
The numbers of international civilian staff have followed a similar trend in the 1990s. In the beginning
of 1991, the number of international staff stood at slightly over 600 but increased to over 2,000 in 1993
and 1994 as a result of the expansions in operations in the Balkans and Africa and the new civilian
functions authorized by their mandates. The numbers subsequently decreased, reflecting the end of
these large-scale operations in the middle of the decade. With the increase in operations towards the
end of the 1990s, the numbers of international civilian staff have once again increased. At the end of
2000, there are approximately 3,500 international staff members serving in peacekeeping operations.
Reflecting the level of peacekeeping activities, peace-keeping costs also fluctuated significantly in
the 1990s. From a $0.4 billion budget in 1991, the costs rose to an all-time high of $3.6 billion in 1993.
The peacekeeping budgets decreased in the latter part of the decade and dropped to 1.0 billion in
1998. The peacekeeping costs increased in 1999-2000 and are projected for $2.5 billion in the
peacekeeping budgetary cycle of July 2000 to June 2001.
The last decade also showed a substantial increase in troop contributions of developing countries in
United Nations peacekeeping operations. For example, in the beginning of 1991, out of the top ten
troop contributors, only two were developing countries, Ghana and Nepal, while by the end of 2000,
eight out of the top ten contributors are developing countries: Bangladesh, Ghana, India, Jordan,
Kenya, Nepal, Nigeria and Pakistan.
