Geneva (, French: Genève [ʒənɛv], Arpitan: Genèva [dzəˈnɛva], German: Genf [ɡɛnf], Italian: Ginevra [dʒiˈneːvra], Romansh: Genevra) is the second -most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and is the most populous city of the Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situated where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the capital of the Republic and Canton of Geneva.
The municipality (ville de Genève) has a population (as of December 2016 ) of 198,979, and the canton (which is essentially the city and its inner-ring suburbs) has 489,524 residents. In 2014, the compact agglomération du Grand Genève had 946,000 inhabitants in 212 communities in both Switzerland and France. Within Swiss territory, the commuter area named "Métropole lémanique" contains a population of 1.26 million. This area is essentially spread east from Geneva towards the Riviera area (Vevey, Montreux ) and north-east towards Yverdon-les-Bains, in the neighbouring canton of Vaud.
Geneva is a global city, a financial center, and worldwide center for diplomacy due to the presence of numerous international organizations, including the headquarters of many of the agencies of the United Nations and the Red Cross. Geneva is the city that hosts the highest number of international organizations in the world. It is also the place where the Geneva Conventions were signed, which chiefly concern the treatment of wartime non-combatants and prisoners of war.
In 2017 Geneva was ranked as the world 's fifteenth most important financial centre for competitiveness by the Global Financial Centres Index, fifth in Europe behind London, Zürich, Frankfurt and Luxembourg.
