International organizations and their headquarters are one of the highest-frequency static GK topics across SSC CGL/CHSL, IBPS/SBI Bank exams, Railway RRB, and State PSC exams — often worth 1-2 direct questions in the General Awareness section. This capsule covers the headquarters, founding year, and full form of the organizations examiners ask about most, grouped by category so they are easier to memorize together.
⚡ Quick Facts
📊 Organizations covered: 35+, grouped into 5 categories
🌍 Most common HQ city: Geneva, Switzerland (7 major bodies — WHO, WTO, ILO, WIPO, WMO, UNHCR, ICRC)
🏛️ Oldest organization on this list: ICRC (International Committee of the Red Cross), founded 1863
🗓️ Last Verified: 24 August 2026
1. United Nations & Its Specialized Agencies
| Organization | Full Form | Headquarters | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|
| UN | United Nations | New York, USA | 1945 |
| UNESCO | UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization | Paris, France | 1945 |
| UNICEF | United Nations Children’s Fund | New York, USA | 1946 |
| WHO | World Health Organization | Geneva, Switzerland | 1948 |
| ILO | International Labour Organization | Geneva, Switzerland | 1919 |
| FAO | Food and Agriculture Organization | Rome, Italy | 1945 |
| UNHCR | UN High Commissioner for Refugees | Geneva, Switzerland | 1950 |
| UNEP | United Nations Environment Programme | Nairobi, Kenya | 1972 |
| IAEA | International Atomic Energy Agency | Vienna, Austria | 1957 |
| WIPO | World Intellectual Property Organization | Geneva, Switzerland | 1967 |
| WMO | World Meteorological Organization | Geneva, Switzerland | 1950 |
| UPU | Universal Postal Union | Bern, Switzerland | 1874 |
| ICJ | International Court of Justice | The Hague, Netherlands | 1945 |
| UNIDO | UN Industrial Development Organization | Vienna, Austria | 1966 |
2. International Financial & Trade Organizations
| Organization | Full Form | Headquarters | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|
| IMF | International Monetary Fund | Washington D.C., USA | 1944 |
| World Bank | World Bank Group | Washington D.C., USA | 1944 |
| WTO | World Trade Organization | Geneva, Switzerland | 1995 |
| ADB | Asian Development Bank | Mandaluyong (Manila), Philippines | 1966 |
| AIIB | Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank | Beijing, China | 2016 |
| NDB | New Development Bank (BRICS Bank) | Shanghai, China | 2015 |
| OECD | Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development | Paris, France | 1961 |
| OPEC | Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries | Vienna, Austria | 1960 |
3. Political, Regional & Strategic Organizations
| Organization | Full Form | Headquarters | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|
| NATO | North Atlantic Treaty Organization | Brussels, Belgium | 1949 |
| EU | European Union | Brussels, Belgium | 1993 |
| ASEAN | Association of Southeast Asian Nations | Jakarta, Indonesia | 1967 |
| SAARC | South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation | Kathmandu, Nepal | 1985 |
| BIMSTEC | Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation | Dhaka, Bangladesh | 1997 |
| SCO | Shanghai Cooperation Organisation | Beijing, China | 2001 |
| OIC | Organisation of Islamic Cooperation | Jeddah, Saudi Arabia | 1969 |
| Commonwealth of Nations | — | London, UK | 1931 (modern form 1949) |
| African Union | — | Addis Ababa, Ethiopia | 2002 |
| G20 | Group of Twenty | No permanent HQ — rotating annual presidency | 1999 |
4. Environmental & Humanitarian Organizations
| Organization | Full Form | Headquarters | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|
| ICRC | International Committee of the Red Cross | Geneva, Switzerland | 1863 |
| Interpol | International Criminal Police Organization | Lyon, France | 1923 |
| Amnesty International | — | London, UK | 1961 |
| WWF | World Wide Fund for Nature | Gland, Switzerland | 1961 |
| Greenpeace | — | Amsterdam, Netherlands | 1971 |
| ICC (Criminal Court) | International Criminal Court | The Hague, Netherlands | 2002 |
5. Sports Governing Bodies
| Organization | Full Form | Headquarters | Founded |
|---|---|---|---|
| IOC | International Olympic Committee | Lausanne, Switzerland | 1894 |
| FIFA | Fédération Internationale de Football Association | Zurich, Switzerland | 1904 |
| ICC (Cricket) | International Cricket Council | Dubai, UAE | 1909 |
Frequently Confused Pairs (Exam Trap Alert)
- ICJ vs ICC: Both sit in The Hague, but the International Court of Justice (ICJ, 1945) is the UN’s judicial organ that settles disputes between states, while the International Criminal Court (ICC, 2002) is a separate treaty-based body that prosecutes individuals for war crimes and genocide.
- “ICC” itself is an acronym trap: it means International Cricket Council (Dubai, 1909) in a sports question but International Criminal Court (The Hague, 2002) in a law/UN question — always check the context of the question.
- IMF vs World Bank: Both were born at the 1944 Bretton Woods Conference and both sit in Washington D.C., but the IMF handles short-term monetary stability and balance-of-payments support, while the World Bank Group provides long-term development and infrastructure financing.
- WHO vs WTO: Both are headquartered in Geneva, but WHO (1948) deals with global public health and WTO (1995) governs international trade rules — a very common one-word-swap trick in MCQs.
- UNESCO vs UNICEF: Both are UN specialized agencies, but UNESCO (Paris, 1945) covers education/science/culture while UNICEF (New York, 1946) focuses on children’s welfare.
Quick Memory Tips
- The Geneva cluster: WHO, WTO, ILO, WIPO, WMO, UNHCR and the ICRC are all headquartered in Geneva — by far the single most-asked HQ city in this topic.
- The Vienna cluster: IAEA, UNIDO and OPEC are all headquartered in Vienna, Austria.
- The Hague cluster: Both the ICJ and the ICC (Criminal Court) sit in The Hague, Netherlands — remember it as the “world’s legal capital.”
- Bretton Woods twins: IMF and World Bank — same founding year (1944), same headquarters city (Washington D.C.), different jobs.
Note: this capsule intentionally lists only the facts that stay constant — headquarters and founding year — because they rarely change and are the safest to memorize. Current heads (Secretary-General, Director-General, President, etc.) of these organizations change periodically through elections and reappointments, so they’re covered separately under this site’s Current Affairs section closer to when they’re exam-relevant, rather than here.
Last Verified: 24 August 2026
