Geneva ( jin-EE-və; French: Genève [ʒ(ə)nɛv] ) 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 leaves 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.
The city was mentioned in Latin texts, by Caesar, with the spelling Genava, probably from the Celtic *genawa- from the stem *genu- ("mouth"), in the sense of an estuary, an etymology shared with the Italian port city of Genoa (in Italian Genova).
The medieval county of Geneva in Middle Latin was known as pagus major Genevensis or Comitatus Genevensis (also Gebennensis). After 1400 it became the Genevois province of Savoy (albeit not extending to the city proper, until the reformation of the seat of the Bishop of Geneva).
Geneva was an Allobrogian border town, fortified against the Helvetii tribe, when the Roman Republic took it in 121 BC. It became Christian under the Late Roman Empire, and acquired its first bishop in the 5th century, having been connected to the Bishopric of Vienne in the 4th.
In the Middle Ages, Geneva was ruled by a count under the Holy Roman Empire until the late 14th century, when it was granted a charter giving it a high degree of self-governance. Around this time, the House of Savoy came to at least nominally dominate the city. In the 15th century, an oligarchic republican government emerged with the creation of the Grand Council. In the first half of the 16th century, the Protestant Reformation reached the city, causing religious strife, during which Savoy rule was thrown off and Geneva allied itself with the Swiss Confederacy. In 1541, with Protestantism on the rise, John Calvin, the Protestant Reformer and proponent of Calvinism, became the spiritual leader of the city and established a "Protestant Rome". By the 18th century, Geneva had come under the influence of Catholic France, which cultivated the city as its own. France tended to be at odds with the ordinary townsfolk, which inspired the failed Geneva Revolution of 1782, an attempt to win representation in the government for men of modest means. In 1798, Revolutionary France under the Directory annexed Geneva. France lost Geneva, which recovered its independence, at the end of the Napoleonic Wars. On 19 May 1815, Geneva joined the Swiss Confederation. In 1907, the separation of Church and State was adopted. Geneva flourished in the 19th and 20th centuries, becoming the seat of many international organisations.
Geneva is located at 46°12' North, 6°09' East, at the south-western end of Lake Geneva, where the Rhône flows out. It is surrounded by three mountain chains, each belonging to the Jura: the Jura main range lies north-westward, the Vuache southward, and the Salève south-eastward.
The city covers an area of 15.93 km2 (6.2 sq mi), while the area of the canton is 282 km2 (108.9 sq mi), including the two small exclaves of Céligny in Vaud. The part of the lake that is attached to Geneva has an area of 38 km2 (14.7 sq mi) and is sometimes referred to as petit lac ('small lake'). The canton has only a 4.5 km-long (2.8 mi) border with the rest of Switzerland. Of 107.5 km (66.8 mi) of the border, 103 are shared with France, the department of Ain to the north and west and the department of Haute-Savoie to the south and east.
Of the land in the city, 0.24 km2 (0.093 sq mi), or 1.5%, is used for agricultural purposes, while 0.5 km2 (0.19 sq mi), or 3.1%, is forested. The rest of the land, 14.63 km2 (5.65 sq mi), or 91.8%, is built up (buildings or roads), 0.49 km2 (0.19 sq mi), or 3.1%, is either rivers or lakes and 0.02 km2 (4.9 acres), or 0.1%, is wasteland.
Of the built-up area, industrial buildings made up 3.4%, housing and buildings made up 46.2% and transportation infrastructure 25.8%, while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 15.7%. Of the agricultural land, 0.3% is used for growing crops. Of the water in the municipality, 0.2% is composed of lakes and 2.9% is rivers and streams.
The altitude of Geneva is 373.6 m (1,225.7 ft) and corresponds to the altitude of the largest of the Pierres du Niton, two large rocks emerging from the lake which date from the last ice age. This rock was chosen by General Guillaume Henri Dufour as the reference point for surveying in Switzerland. The second main river of Geneva is the Arve, which flows into the Rhône just west of the city centre. Mont Blanc can be seen from Geneva and is an hour's drive from the city.
The climate of Geneva is a temperate climate, more specifically an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification: Cfb). Winters are cool, usually with light frosts at night and thawing conditions during the day. Summers are relatively warm. Precipitation is adequate and is relatively well-distributed throughout the year, although autumn is slightly wetter than other seasons. Ice storms near Lac Léman are normal in the winter: Geneva can be affected by the Bise, a north-easterly wind. This can lead to severe icing in winter.
In summer, many people swim in the lake and patronise public beaches such as Genève Plage and the Bains des Pâquis. The city, in certain years, receives snow during colder months. The nearby mountains are subject to substantial snowfall and are suitable for skiing. Many world-renowned ski resorts such as Verbier and Crans-Montana are less than three hours away by car. Mont Salève (1,379 m (4,524 ft)), just across the border in France, dominates the southerly view from the city centre, and Mont Blanc, the highest of the Alpine range, is visible from most of the city, towering high above Chamonix, which, along with Morzine, Le Grand Bornand, La Clusaz, and resorts of the Grand Massif such as Samoens, Morillon, and Flaine, are the closest French skiing destinations to Geneva.
During the years 2000–2009, the mean yearly temperature was 11 °C and the mean number of sunshine-hours per year was 2003.