World Organizations

An international organization is an organization with an international membership, scope, or presence. There are two main types: International nongovernmental organizations (INGOs): non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that operate internationally.

A non-governmental organization (NGO) is any non-profit, voluntary citizens' group which is organized on a local, national or international level.

Here we have listed some important Organizations with its Headquarters. We hope it will help you to score more marks in the upcoming examinations.

1. World Trade Organization (WTO) –

  1. Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland
  2. Head – Roberto Azevedo
  3. Founded on – 1 January, 1995


2. World Health Organization (WHO) –

  1. Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland
  2. Head – Tedros Adhanom
  3. Founded on – 7 April, 1948


3. World Economic Forum (WEF) –

  1. Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland
  2. Head – Klaus Schwab
  3. Founded on – 1971


4. International Labour Organisation (ILO) –

  1. Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland
  2. Head – Guy Ryder
  3. Founded on – 1919


5. United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD) –

  1. Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland
  2. Head – MukhisaKituyi
  3. Founded on – 1964


6. World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) –

  1. Headquarters – Geneva, Switzerland
  2. Head – Petteri Taalas (Secretary-General) David Grimes (President)
  3. Founded on – 23 March, 1950


7. International Monetary Fund (IMF) –

  1. Headquarters – Washington DC, US
  2. Head – Christine Lagarde
  3. Founded on – 27 December, 1945


8. The World Bank –

  1. Headquarters – Washington DC, US
  2. Founded on – July, 1944
  3. President- Jim Young Kim


9. United Nations Organization (UN) –

  1. Headquarters – New York, US
  2. Secretary General– Latest UN Secretary-General for united nations organisation was António Guterres appointed 13 October 2016
  3. Founded on – 24 October, 1945


10. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) –

  1. Headquarters – New York, US
  2. Head – Anthony Lake
  3. Founded on – December, 1946


11. United Nations Education Scientific & Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) –

  1. Headquarters – Paris, France
  2. Head – Irina Bokova
  3. Founded on – 16 November, 1945


12. Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) –

  1. Headquarters – Paris, France
  2. Head – Jose Angel Gurria
  3. Founded on – 30 September, 1961


13. North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) –

  1. Headquarters – Brussels, Belgium
  2. Secretary General – The current Secretary General is Jens Stoltenberg, the former Prime Minister of Norway, who took office on 1 October 2014
  3. Founded on – 4 April, 1949


14. International Maritime Organisation (IMO) –

  1. Headquarters – London, UK
  2. Head – Ki Tack Lim
  3. Founded on – 1959


15. International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) –

  1. Headquarters – Vienna, Austria
  2. Head – Yukiya Amano
  3. Founded on – July 29, 1957


16. Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) –

  1. Headquarters – Vienna, Austria
  2. Secretary General – OPEC Secretary General is Mohammed Sanusi Barkindo from 1 August 2016
  3. Founded on – 1961-62


17. International Olympic Committee (IOC) –

  1. Headquarters – Lausanne, Switzerland
  2. Head – Thomas Bach
  3. Founded on – 23 June, 1894


18. Food & Agricultural Organisation (FAO) –

  1. Headquarters – Rome, Italy
  2. Head – Jose Graziano da Silva
  3. Founded on -16 October, 1945

UN Organizations

Organizations Name Abbreviation Headquarters Formation
United Nations UN New York City, USA 1945
Food and Agriculture Organization FAO Palazzo FAO, Rome, Italy 1945
International Labour Organization ILO Geneva, Switzerland 1919
International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO Montreal, Quebec, Canada 1947
International Maritime Organization IMO London, United Kingdom 1959
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR Geneva, Switzerland 1950
Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS UNAIDS Geneva, Switzerland 1996
United Nations Atomic Energy Commission UNAEC New York City, USA 1946
United Nations Capital Development Fund UNCDF New York City, USA
United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF New York City, USA 1946
United Nations Development Programme UNDP New York City, USA 1965
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization UNESCO Paris, France 1946
United Nations Environment Programme UNEP Nairobi, Kenya 1972
United Nations Human Settlements Programme UN-Habitat Nairobi, Kenya 1978
United Nations Industrial Development Organization UNIDO Vienna, Austria 1985
United Nations International Strategy for Disaster Reduction UNISDR Geneva, Switzerland 2000
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime UNODC Vienna, Austria 1997
Universal Postal Union UPU Bern, Switzerland 1874
World Health Organization WHO Geneva, Switzerland 1948
World Intellectual Property Organization WIPO Geneva, Switzerland 1967
World Food Programme WFP Rome, Italy 1961
World Meteorological Organization WMO Geneva, Switzerland 1950
World Tourism Organization UNWTO Madrid, Spain 1957
International Rescue Committee IRC New York City, United States 1933
International Atomic Energy Agency IAEA Vienna, Austria 1957
International Telecommunication Union ITU Geneva, Switzerland 1947
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights OHCHR Geneva, Switzerland 1993

Political and Economic Organizations

Organizations Name Abbreviation Headquarters Formation
European Union EU Brussels 1958
African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States ACP Brussels – Belgium 1975
African Union AU Addis Ababa,Johannesburg 2001y
Andean Community CAN Lima, Peru. 1969
Arab League(League of Arab States) – Cairo 1905y
Arab Maghreb Union AMU Rabat, Morocco 1956
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation APEC Singapore 1905y
Association of Southeast Asian Nations ASEAN Jakarta, Indonesia 1967
Caribbean Community CARICOM Georgetown, Guyana. 1973
Central American Parliament PARLACEN Guatemala City 1980
Common Market of East and Southern Africa COMESA Lusaka, Zambia 1994
Commonwealth of Nations (British Commonwealth) – London, United Kingdom 1926
Commonwealth of Independent States (Russian Commonwealth) CIS Moscow,Russian 1991
Council of Europe CoE Strasbourg, France 1949
East African Community EAC Arusha 1967
Economic Community of West African States ECOWAS Abuja, Nigeria 1975
European Free Trade Association EFTA Geneva, Switzerland 1960
Gulf Cooperation Council GCC Riyadh, Saudi Arabia 1981
Indian Ocean Commission IOC Port Louis, Mauritius 1982
Non-Aligned Movement NAM New York City, USA 1961
Nordic Council – Copenhagen, Denmark 1952
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD Paris, France 1948
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe OSCE Vienna, Austria 1973
Organization of American States OAS Washington, D.C. 1948
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States OECS Castries, Saint Lucia 1981
Organisation of Islamic Cooperation OIC Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 1969
Secretariat of the Pacific Community SPC Nouméa 1947
Pacific Islands Forum – Suva, Fiji 1971
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation SAARC Kathmandu, Nepal 1985
Southern African Development Community SADC Gaborone, Botswana 1992
Union of South American Nations USAN Quito, Ecuador 2004
Unrepresented Nations and Peoples Organization UNPO The Hague, Netherlands 1991
World Trade Organization WTO Geneva, Switzerland 1995
Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific ESCAP Bangkok, Thailand 1947

Military Organizations

Organizations Name Abbreviation Headquarters Formation
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation NATO Brussels, Belgium 1949
European Security and Defence Policy ESDP Paris
Shanghai Cooperation Organisation SCO Beijing, China 1996
Collective Security Treaty Organization CSTO Moscow, Russia 1992
Peace and Security Council PSC Addis Ababa

Financial Organizations

Organizations Name Abbreviation Headquarters Formation
World Bank – Washington D.C., United States 1944
African Development Bank AfDB Abidjan, Ivory Coast(statutory) & Tunis, Tunisia (temporary) 1963
Asian Development Bank ADB Metro Manila, Philippines 1966
European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EBRD London 1991
Inter-American Development Bank IDB Washington, D.C. 1959
International Monetary Fund IMF Washington, D.C 1945
Islamic Development Bank IDB Jeddah, Saudi Arabia 1973
International Monetary Fund IMF Washington, D.C., United States 1945
International Fund for Agricultural Development IFAD Rome, Italy 1977
Bank for International Settlements BIS Basel, Switzerland 1930
Black Sea Trade and Development Bank BSTDB Thessaloniki, Greece 1997
Caribbean Development Bank CDB Bridgetown, Barbados 1969
Nordic Development Fund NDF Helsinki, Finland. 1989
Nordic Investment Bank NIB Helsinki, Finland. 1970
European Central Bank ECB Frankfurt, Germany 1998

Sports Federations

Organizations Name Abbreviation Headquarters Formation
Asian Football Confederation AFC Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1954
Confederation of African Football CAF 6th of October City, Egypt. 1957
Confederation of North, Central American and Caribbean Association Football CONCACAF Miami, Florida, U.S. 1961
South American Football Confederation CONMEBOL Luque, Paraguay 1916
Oceania Football Confederation OFC Auckland, New Zealand 1966
Union of European Football Associations UEFA Nyon, Switzerland 1954
World Chess Federation(Fédération Internationale des Échecs ) FIDE Athens, Greece 1924
International Federation of Association Football(Fédération Internationale de Football Association) FIFA Zürich, Switzerland 1904
International Cricket Council ICC Dubai, United Arab Emirates 1909
International Olympic Committee IOC Lausanne, Switzerland 1894
International Paralympic Committee IPC Bonn, Germany 1989
World Rugby(International Rugby Football Board) IRFB Dublin,Ireland 1886
Commonwealth Games Federation CGF London, United Kingdom 1930
International Tennis Federation ITF London, UK 1913
Badminton World Federation BWF Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia 1934
International Hockey Federation FIH Lausanne, Switzerland 1924


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Financial Organizations :

Organizations Name Abbreviation Headquarters Formation
European Space Agency ESA Paris,France 1975
Indian Space Research Organisation ISRO Bangalore, India 1969
National Aeronautics and Space Administration NASA Washington, D.C. , USA 1958
United Kingdom Space Agency UKSA Swindon, Wiltshire 2010
China National Space Administration CNSA Beijing, China 1993
Russian Federal Space Agency Roscosmos Moscow, Russia 1992
French Space Agency CNES Paris, France 1961
Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency JAXA Tokyo, Japan 2003
German Aerospace Center DLR Cologne 1969
Italian Space Agency ASI Rome, Italy 1988

MIND IT !

Here are the most frequently asked World Organizations questions in General knowledge section of exams. These questions will be useful for your practice for IBPS, SSC, UPSC exams, state PSC exams, entrance exams, bank exams, NEET exam (National Eligibility and Entrance Test) or any other competitive exams.

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