How many non permanent members does the United Nations Security Council have at any given time?

Introduction / Context:
The United Nations Security Council is one of the most powerful organs of the United Nations system. It is responsible for maintaining international peace and security. The Council has both permanent and non permanent members, and its composition is a frequent subject of general knowledge questions. Knowing the exact number of non permanent members is important for exams related to international organisations and current affairs.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The question asks about the number of non permanent members of the United Nations Security Council.
• We assume that the structure is the one in force since the expansion from eleven to fifteen members in total.
• The permanent members are a fixed group of five countries.

Concept / Approach:
The United Nations Security Council consists of fifteen members in total. Out of these, five are permanent members with veto power, and the other ten are non permanent members elected by the General Assembly for two year terms. These non permanent seats are allocated by region and rotate among the member states. To answer the question, we subtract the five permanent members from the total of fifteen to arrive at ten non permanent members.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that the Security Council has a total of fifteen seats.Step 2: Remember that there are exactly five permanent members with veto power.Step 3: Subtract the five permanent members from the total of fifteen members.Step 4: 15 minus 5 equals 10, which represents the number of non permanent members.Step 5: Choose 10 as the correct answer from the options given.

Verification / Alternative check:
Verification can be done by recalling the list of permanent members, commonly remembered as the group of five major World War Two victors, and then recalling that the Council was expanded to a fifteen member body with ten non permanent seats. Standard general knowledge and international relations textbooks consistently describe the Security Council as a five plus ten structure, confirming that ten is the correct number of non permanent members.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Five is the number of permanent members, not non permanent members. Fifteen is the total number of members on the Security Council. Twenty and eight are not part of the widely known composition and do not match the established structure of the Council. Therefore, these options do not answer the specific question about non permanent members.

Common Pitfalls:
Some learners confuse the total membership of fifteen with the number of non permanent members and may mistakenly choose fifteen. Others may recall only that there are five permanent members and guess randomly. A simple way to avoid confusion is to memorise the structure explicitly as five permanent plus ten non permanent equals fifteen members in total.

Final Answer:
10