Geneva

About Geneva

Genevanɛv] ) is the second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic and Canton of Geneva. Geneva is a global city, an international financial centre, and a worldwide centre for diplomacy, which has led to it being called the "Peace Capital".

It hosts the highest number of international organisations in the world, including the headquarters of many agencies of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies of the Red Cross. It was where the Geneva Conventions on humanitarian treatment in war were signed, and, in the aftermath of World War I, it hosted the League of Nations. It shares a unique distinction with municipalities such as New York City, Bonn, Basel, and Strasbourg as a city which serves as the headquarters of at least one critical international organisation without being the capital of a country.

The city of Geneva (Ville de Genève) had a population of 203,856 in January 2021 within its municipal territory of 16 square kilometres (6.2 sq mi). The Geneva metropolitan area as officially defined by Eurostat, including suburbs and exurbs in Vaud and the French departments of Ain and Haute-Savoie, extends over 2,292 km2 (885 sq mi) and had a population of 1,053,436 in 2021. The Canton of Geneva, the Nyon District, and the Pôle métropolitain du Genevois français (a federation of eight French intercommunal councils), form the Grand Genève ("Greater Geneva"), a Local Grouping of Transnational Cooperation in charge of organising cooperation within the cross-border metropolitan area of Geneva. The Grand Genève GLCT extends over 1,996 km2 (771 sq mi) and had a population of 1,046,168, with 58.3% of them living in Switzerland, and 41.7% in France.

In 2025, Geneva was ranked as the world's fifteenth most important financial centre by the Global Financial Centres Index, and fourth in Europe behind London, Frankfurt and Dublin. In 2024, Geneva was ranked as the third most liveable city in the world by Mercer, as well as the fourth most expensive city in the world. In a UBS ranking of global cities in 2018, Geneva was ranked first for gross earnings, and fourth in purchasing power, and was also the second most expensive city.

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.