General Knowledge
Beginner Level
World Organizations
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Jun 30, 2026
About This Cheat Sheet
Hey there! Welcome to your complete guide to World Organizations for competitive exams. I've put together everything you need to know in one place β from the United Nations and its specialized agencies to major international organizations like WTO, NATO, SAARC, BRICS, ASEAN, EU, and more. Whether you're preparing for SSC, Banking, Railways, UPSC, or State PSC exams, this cheat sheet covers headquarters, founding years, members, reports, and shortcut techniques to help you score better.
πΊπ³ United Nations
- Founded: 1945
- Headquarters: New York, USA
- Members: 193 Member States
- Official Languages: 6 (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish)
- Secretary-General: AntΓ³nio Guterres (2017-Present)
- Main Organs: General Assembly, Security Council, ECOSOC, ICJ, Secretariat
π’ UN Agencies
- WHO - Geneva (Health)
- UNICEF - New York (Children)
- UNESCO - Paris (Education, Science, Culture)
- ILO - Geneva (Labour)
- FAO - Rome (Food, Agriculture)
- IMF - Washington D.C. (Finance)
- World Bank - Washington D.C. (Development)
- UNHCR - Geneva (Refugees)
π International Organizations
- WTO - Geneva (1995)
- NATO - Brussels (1949)
- SAARC - Kathmandu (1985)
- BRICS - Founded 2009
- ASEAN - Jakarta (1967)
- EU - Brussels (1993)
- OIC - Jeddah (1969)
- AU - Addis Ababa (2002)
ποΈ Regional Organizations
- SCO - Shanghai, 2001
- GCC - Riyadh, 1981
- OPEC - Vienna, 1960
- OAS - Washington D.C., 1948
- Commonwealth - London, 1931
- G7 - Founded 1975
- G20 - Founded 1999
π° Financial Institutions
- World Bank Group - Washington D.C.
- IMF - Washington D.C.
- Asian Development Bank - Manila
- African Development Bank - Abidjan
- European Central Bank - Frankfurt
- Bank for International Settlements - Basel
π Reports & Indices
- Human Development Report - UNDP
- World Economic Outlook - IMF
- Global Economic Prospects - World Bank
- Global Hunger Index - Concern/WHH
- Corruption Perceptions Index - Transparency International
- World Happiness Report - UN SDSN
- Global Gender Gap Report - WEF
πΊπ³ 193
UN Member States
1945 Foundedπ’ 15+
UN Specialized Agencies
Global Impactπ 30+
International Organizations
Worldwideπ 20+
Reports & Indices
Global RankingsπΊπ³ United Nations Structure
π General Assembly
- Function: Main deliberative body
- Members: All 193 member states
- Headquarters: New York, USA
- Meets: Annually (September-December)
π‘οΈ Security Council
- Function: Peace and security
- Members: 15 (5 permanent + 10 elected)
- Permanent: US, UK, France, Russia, China
- Veto Power: P5 members
βοΈ Economic and Social Council
- Function: Economic and social issues
- Members: 54 elected members
- Headquarters: New York, USA
- ECOSOC: Coordinates UN agencies
βοΈ More UN Organs
ποΈ Trusteeship Council
- Function: Trusteeship territories
- Status: Suspended (1994)
- Headquarters: New York, USA
- Note: No longer active
βοΈ International Court of Justice
- Function: Judicial branch
- Headquarters: The Hague, Netherlands
- Judges: 15 elected
- Note: Principal judicial organ
π Secretariat
- Function: Administrative branch
- Headquarters: New York, USA
- Head: Secretary-General
- Staff: Over 40,000
π€ UN Secretaries-General
π³π΄ Trygve Lie
- Country: Norway
- Term: 1946-1952
- First SG
πΈπͺ Dag HammarskjΓΆld
- Country: Sweden
- Term: 1953-1961
- Most influential
π²π² U Thant
- Country: Myanmar
- Term: 1961-1971
- First Asian
π¦πΉ Kurt Waldheim
- Country: Austria
- Term: 1972-1981
- Fourth SG
π€ More UN Secretaries-General
π΅πͺ Javier PΓ©rez de CuΓ©llar
- Country: Peru
- Term: 1982-1991
- First Latin American
πͺπ¬ Boutros Boutros-Ghali
- Country: Egypt
- Term: 1992-1996
- First African
π¬π Kofi Annan
- Country: Ghana
- Term: 1997-2006
- Nobel Peace Prize
π°π· Ban Ki-moon
- Country: South Korea
- Term: 2007-2016
- Second Asian
π’ UN Agencies & Their Headquarters
WHO: World Health Organization β Geneva, Switzerland
UNICEF: UN Children's Fund β New York, USA
UNESCO: UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization β Paris, France
ILO: International Labour Organization β Geneva, Switzerland
FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization β Rome, Italy
IMF: International Monetary Fund β Washington D.C., USA
World Bank: IBRD β Washington D.C., USA
UNHCR: UN High Commissioner for Refugees β Geneva, Switzerland
UNEP: UN Environment Programme β Nairobi, Kenya
UNDP: UN Development Programme β New York, USA
WFP: World Food Programme β Rome, Italy
IAEA: International Atomic Energy Agency β Vienna, Austria
π More UN Agencies
UNCTAD: UN Conference on Trade and Development β Geneva
UN Women: UN Entity for Gender Equality β New York
ITU: International Telecommunication Union β Geneva
WIPO: World Intellectual Property Organization β Geneva
WHO: World Health Organization β Geneva
FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization β Rome
UNIDO: UN Industrial Development Organization β Vienna
UPU: Universal Postal Union β Bern, Switzerland
π Major International Organizations
π UN (1945)
- Full Form: United Nations
- Headquarters: New York, USA
- Members: 193
π WTO (1995)
- Full Form: World Trade Organization
- Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
- Members: 164
π‘οΈ NATO (1949)
- Full Form: North Atlantic Treaty Organization
- Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium
- Members: 31 (2023)
π€ SAARC (1985)
- Full Form: South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
- Headquarters: Kathmandu, Nepal
- Members: 8
π More International Organizations
π BRICS (2009)
- Full Form: Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa
- Members: 5 (Original)
- Note: Expanded 2024
π ASEAN (1967)
- Full Form: Association of Southeast Asian Nations
- Headquarters: Jakarta, Indonesia
- Members: 10
πͺπΊ EU (1993)
- Full Form: European Union
- Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium
- Members: 27
π OIC (1969)
- Full Form: Organization of Islamic Cooperation
- Headquarters: Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
- Members: 57
ποΈ Regional Organizations
π€ SCO (2001)
- Full Form: Shanghai Cooperation Organization
- Headquarters: Beijing, China
- Members: 9
- India: Member since 2017
π’οΈ OPEC (1960)
- Full Form: Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
- Headquarters: Vienna, Austria
- Members: 13
- Note: Controls oil prices
π AU (2002)
- Full Form: African Union
- Headquarters: Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
- Members: 55
- Note: Replaced OAU
ποΈ More Regional Organizations
π‘οΈ OAS (1948)
- Full Form: Organization of American States
- Headquarters: Washington D.C., USA
- Members: 35
π Commonwealth (1931)
- Full Form: Commonwealth of Nations
- Headquarters: London, UK
- Members: 56
- Head: King Charles III
π€ GCC (1981)
- Full Form: Gulf Cooperation Council
- Headquarters: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
- Members: 6
π° Financial Institutions
π¦ World Bank Group
- Headquarters: Washington D.C., USA
- Founded: 1944 (Bretton Woods)
- Members: 189
- President: Ajay Banga (Indian-American)
π° IMF
- Full Form: International Monetary Fund
- Headquarters: Washington D.C., USA
- Founded: 1944 (Bretton Woods)
- Members: 190
π Asian Development Bank
- Headquarters: Manila, Philippines
- Founded: 1966
- Members: 68
- President: Masatsugu Asakawa
π Important Reports & Indices
π Development Reports
- Human Development Report - UNDP
- World Economic Outlook - IMF
- Global Economic Prospects - World Bank
- Global Development Report - World Bank
π Rankings & Indices
- Global Hunger Index - Concern/WHH
- Corruption Perceptions Index - Transparency International
- World Happiness Report - UN SDSN
- Global Gender Gap Report - WEF
π° Media & Freedom
- World Press Freedom Index - Reporters Without Borders
- Global Peace Index - IEP
- Ease of Doing Business - World Bank (Discontinued)
- GINI Index - World Bank
π€ Important Summits & Conferences
π UN Summits
- UN Climate Change Conference - COP
- UN General Assembly - Annual
- UN Security Council - As needed
- Earth Summit - Rio 1992
πΌ Economic Summits
- G7 Summit - Annual
- G20 Summit - Annual
- BRICS Summit - Annual
- WTO Ministerial - Biennial
π Regional Summits
- SAARC Summit - Biennial
- ASEAN Summit - Annual
- EU Summit - Quarterly
- OIC Summit - Triennial
π€ Important Personalities
πΊπ³ UN Leadership
- AntΓ³nio Guterres - UN Secretary-General (Portugal)
- Csaba KΕrΓΆsi - UNGA President (Hungary)
- Volkan BozkΔ±r - Former UNGA President
ποΈ Organization Heads
- Ajay Banga - World Bank President (India/USA)
- Kristalina Georgieva - IMF Managing Director (Bulgaria)
- Jens Stoltenberg - NATO Secretary-General (Norway)
- Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala - WTO Director-General (Nigeria)
π Regional Heads
- Moussa Faki - AU Commission Chair (Chad)
- Ursula von der Leyen - EU Commission President (Germany)
- Kairat Mami - SCO Secretary-General (Kazakhstan)
π― World Organizations Quick Revision
The Golden Rule: Focus on headquarters, founding years, and current leadership. Most competitive exam questions test your ability to match organizations with their headquarters and leaders.
Quick Memory Tricks:
- π UN Secretaries-General: "Let Hamburger U Thant Walk Waldheim, Boutros Kofi Ban Guterres" - Trygve Lie, Dag HammarskjΓΆld, U Thant, Kurt Waldheim, Javier PΓ©rez de CuΓ©llar, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Kofi Annan, Ban Ki-moon, AntΓ³nio Guterres
- π UN Agencies by City: New York (UNICEF, UNDP), Geneva (WHO, ILO, UNHCR, WIPO), Paris (UNESCO), Rome (FAO, WFP), Vienna (IAEA), Nairobi (UNEP)
- π International Organizations by Year: 1945 (UN), 1949 (NATO), 1960 (OPEC), 1967 (ASEAN), 1985 (SAARC), 1995 (WTO), 2001 (SCO), 2002 (AU), 2009 (BRICS)
Exam Strategy:
- Step 1: Identify the organization from the question
- Step 2: Match with headquarters and founding year
- Step 3: Check current leadership (Secretary-General/President)
- Step 4: For UN agencies, remember their specialized functions
- Step 5: For reports, match with publishing organization
π‘ Pro Tips for World Organizations
β Remember Headquarters
Most questions ask about headquarters. Focus on matching organizations with their HQ cities.
β Learn Founding Years
Important years: 1945 (UN), 1949 (NATO), 1995 (WTO), 1985 (SAARC), 2009 (BRICS).
β Current Leadership
Know current heads: Guterres (UN), Georgieva (IMF), Banga (World Bank), Stoltenberg (NATO).
β UN Agencies by Function
WHO = Health, UNICEF = Children, UNESCO = Education/Culture, ILO = Labour, FAO = Food/Agriculture.
β Reports & Publishers
HDI = UNDP, World Economic Outlook = IMF, Global Hunger Index = Concern/WHH.
β India's Membership
India is a member of: UN, WTO, SAARC, BRICS, SCO, G20, Commonwealth, WHO, UNICEF, and many more.
π Quick Reference: UN Agencies Summary
π’ Agency
- WHO
- UNICEF
- UNESCO
- ILO
- FAO
- IMF
- World Bank
- UNHCR
π HQ
- Geneva
- New York
- Paris
- Geneva
- Rome
- Washington D.C.
- Washington D.C.
- Geneva
π― Function
- Health
- Children
- Education/Culture
- Labour
- Food/Agriculture
- Finance
- Development
- Refugees
π Founded
- 1948
- 1946
- 1945
- 1919
- 1945
- 1944
- 1944
- 1950
π Quick Reference: International Organizations Summary
π Org
- UN
- WTO
- NATO
- SAARC
- BRICS
- ASEAN
- EU
- OIC
π HQ
- New York
- Geneva
- Brussels
- Kathmandu
- -
- Jakarta
- Brussels
- Jeddah
π Founded
- 1945
- 1995
- 1949
- 1985
- 2009
- 1967
- 1993
- 1969
π₯ Members
- 193
- 164
- 31
- 8
- 5+
- 10
- 27
- 57
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