page_title: Universal Esperanto Association
section_title: National organizations
hierarchical_section_title: Universal Esperanto Association / Structure and affiliated organizations / National organizations
caption_attribution_description: A map of states where are national UEA sections.
context_page_description: The Universal Esperanto Association, also known as the World Esperanto Association, is the largest international organization of Esperanto speakers, with 5501 individual members in 121 countries and 9215 through national associations and in official relations with the United Nations. In addition to individual members, 70 national Esperanto organizations are affiliated with UEA. Its current president is the professor Duncan Charters. The magazine Esperanto is the main organ used by UEA to inform its members about everything happening in the Esperanto community.
  The UEA was founded in 1908 by the Swiss journalist Hector Hodler and others and is now headquartered in Rotterdam, Netherlands. The organization has an office at the United Nations building in New York City.
context_section_description: The first national Esperanto organization was founded in 1898 in France, originally as a potential international association. In 1903 the second one followed, in Switzerland. Within a couple of years, many of the now still existing national organizations came into existence. Since 1933/1934 they send representatives into the UEA Komitato (a kind of parliament), making it a federation of national organizations. The term in Esperanto was initially mostly Naciaj Societoj (national societies), since 1933 Landaj Asocioj (country associations).
  When UEA accepted national organizations in 1933/1934 for the first time, it required them to
  have at least 100 national members,
  be 'organized in an orderly manner',
  be neutral, meaning having no political or religious aims, and being open to all citizens of the country.
  Especially the last prerequisite caused serious problems, e.g. to the German national association coming in those months under national socialist rule. Later, for example, the Cuban association was refused because its statutes claimed to respect the leading role of the communist party in Cuba. In 1980, the UEA statutes were altered. Since then, a national organization need not be neutral itself, but must respect the neutrality of UEA.
caption: National organizations of Esperanto, in green those that joined UEA
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