How many employees work at UNESCO?

United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Org has approximately 6,549 total employees worldwide as of March 2026, according to Revelio Labs workforce intelligence data. UNESCO's total headcount has grown 7.1% from 6,112 employees in 2023 to 6,549 in 2026.

Data source: Revelio LabsCoverage: Global workforce, 2023–2026Published July 2026

UNESCO is hiring

Is UNESCO hiring right now?

Yes, UNESCO is actively hiring. UNESCO had 73 active job postings in 2026, a 63.6% decline from 2025 see job openings & hiring trends.

About UNESCO's Workforce

United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Org is a Public Sector Management company that employs 6,549 people worldwide as of March 2026. It is the 6th-largest by headcount among its peers. Founded in 1945, the company is headquartered in Paris, France.

UNESCO's workforce has grown 7.1% from 2023 to 2026, and it increased 2.7% year over year in 2026. The headcount rose from 2023 to 2026 after a low of 6,096 in 2023 Q4, and its distribution is led by France with 32.5% of employees, followed by Brazil at 4.5% and the United States at 3.9%, with Brazil noted as its fastest-growing location at 12%.

UNESCO's largest groups by headcount are Finance and Operations (47.0%), Engineering (32.1%), and Sales and Marketing (20.9%), with Engineering the fastest-growing at 2.4%. The average tenure is 3.8 years, and the average salary is $34,514, with regional medians of $50,000 in Western Europe and $6,000 in Southern Asia.

UNESCO's hiring activity showed a steep pullback, with active postings down 63.6% in 2026 to 73, and postings per month decelerating from 99 in 2023 to 87 in 2026. Overall sentiment remains neutral but is moving upward.

Sourced from Revelio Labs workforce data.

As of March 2026

UNESCO
workforce metrics

Headcount

6.5k

2.7% YoY

Avg. Salary

$34.5k

1.5% YoY

Tenure

3.8yr

0.3yr YoY

Growth Rate

2.7%

0.3pts YoY

Hiring Rate

Attrition Rate

Unlock hiring rate, attrition rate, and 12 additional workforce metrics for UNESCO. Compare to peers, export the dataset, and access the full quarterly history.

Unlock Metrics
Interactive chart of UNESCO annual worldwide employee count from 2023 to 2026.
  • UNESCO had 6,549 employees in 2026, a 2.7% increase (+172) from 2025.
  • UNESCO had 6,394 employees in 2025, a 2.5% increase (+155) from 2024.
  • UNESCO had 6,239 employees in 2024, a 2.3% increase (+143) from 2023.
  • UNESCO had 6,096 employees in 2023, a 1.3% increase (+76) from 2022.

UNESCO's total workforce has grown from 6,112 employees in 2023 to 6,549 in 2026.

United Nations Educational, Scientific & Cultural Org — quarterly employee count (20232026)

YearQtrEmployeesYoY ChangeYoY %
2026Q16,549+172+2.7%
2025Q46,394+155+2.5%
2025Q36,464+145+2.3%
2025Q26,492+189+3.0%
2025Q16,377+185+2.9%
2024Q46,239+143+2.3%
2024Q36,319+146+2.3%
2024Q26,303+191+3.1%
2024Q16,192+177+2.9%
2023Q46,096+76+1.3%
2023Q36,173+134+2.2%
2023Q26,112+97+1.6%

Want to see UNESCO's complete headcount history back to 2008, including quarterly breakdowns?

Get the Data

France accounts for the largest share of UNESCO's global workforce with approximately 33% of total employees, followed by Brazil and the United States. UNESCO's headcount in Brazil is growing fastest among its major locations, up 12.0% year over year in 2026.

UNESCO employees by country — 2026

CountryEmployees% of TotalYoY %
France2,11432.5%+0.3%
Brazil2904.5%+12.0%
United States2513.9%+0.1%
India1963.0%-5.6%
Pakistan1011.6%+5.7%
Afghanistan1001.5%-0.7%
Indonesia981.5%+1.0%
Kenya931.4%+2.9%
Thailand881.3%+4.1%
Peru871.3%+16.4%

Drill into city-level data, hiring trends by region and historic geographic shifts

Unlock Geographic Data

UNESCO's largest employee groups are Finance and Operations (47.0%), Engineering (32.1%), and Sales and Marketing (20.9%).

UNESCO employees by department — 2026

DepartmentEmployees% of TotalYoY %
Finance and Operations2,94647.0%-1.0%
Engineering2,00832.1%+2.4%
Sales and Marketing1,31220.9%+2.0%

Compare UNESCO's department mix to industry peers.

See Full Data

UNESCO's average employee salary is $34,514 globally. Employees in Western Europe receive the highest compensation, with median pay approximately 1.4x the global average. Pay is lowest in Southern Asia, at a median of $6,000.

UNESCO median employee salary by region — 2026 (USD)

RegionMedian Salary
Northern America$64,000
Northern Europe$55,000
Western Europe$50,000
Pacific Islands$47,000
Southern Europe$34,000
Eastern Asia$28,000
Eastern Europe$20,000
Arab States$17,000
Central America and the Caribbean$16,000
Central and Western Asia$14,000
Southern America$13,000
South-Eastern Asia$12,000
Northern Africa$11,000
Sub-Saharan Africa$9,000
Southern Asia$6,000

Unlock salary by role, level, and city — and compare to UNESCO's industry peers.

Unlock Salary Data
Interactive chart of UNESCO annual active job postings from 2023 to 2026.
  • UNESCO had 73 active job postings in 2026, a 63.6% decline (+23) from 2025.
  • UNESCO had 50 active job postings in 2025, a 146.4% decline (-273) from 2024.
  • UNESCO had 323 active job postings in 2024, a 5.4% decline (-18) from 2023.
  • UNESCO had 341 active job postings in 2023, a 166.7% increase from 2022.
  • Hiring velocity in 2026: 87 new roles/month, down from 122 in 2025 and 134 in 2024. New metric

UNESCO's hiring is slowing: active job postings fell 63.6% in 2026 to 73, with new postings per month cooling from 99 in 2023 to 87 in 2026.

Track new postings per month, role-level demand, and hiring velocity vs. peers.

Unlock Hiring Data

Revelio Labs tracks employee sentiment across UNESCO's workforce based on public professional data. Overall sentiment is neutral and has improved year over year in 2026.

Overall

NegativePositive

Unlock the full sentiment breakdown by department, tenure, and trend over time.

Unlock Sentiment
How fast is UNESCO growing?
In 2026, UNESCO's headcount grew 2.7% to 6,549 employees, up from 6,377 in 2025.
Where are UNESCO employees located?
Most UNESCO employees are based in France (32.5% of headcount), followed by Brazil and the United States.
What is the average salary at UNESCO?
The average employee salary at UNESCO is approximately $34.5k per year.
How many people does UNESCO hire per year?
In 2026, UNESCO opened roughly 1,044 new roles — about 87 per month.
When was UNESCO founded and where is it headquartered?
UNESCO was founded in 1945 and is headquartered in Paris, France.

See something that doesn't look right? Reach out and our team will review it.