Canton of Geneva
Swiss canton centered on the city of Geneva: a compact, French-speaking region known for diplomacy, finance, Lake Geneva, cross-border urban area with France, and a long history including the University of Geneva.
Overview
The canton of Geneva is one of Switzerland's 26 cantons, centered on the city of Geneva which serves as its capital. The canton combines a dense urban core with surrounding suburbs and lakeshore landscapes. For official information see the canton page: Geneva (canton), and its national context: Switzerland.
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Names and language
Geneva is mainly French-speaking; its French name is Genève. Other traditional names include German Genf and Italian Ginevra. These linguistic forms reflect Switzerland's multilingual environment: French, German, and Italian are among the country's national languages.
Geography and population
The canton lies at the southwestern tip of Switzerland on the shores of Lake Geneva (Lac Léman) and borders France on three sides. The city proper has roughly 180,000–190,000 residents, while the wider metropolitan area approaches one million people, forming a transnational urban zone often called Greater Geneva. Demographic and planning discussion of the metropolitan region can be found here: urban area, and the cross-border character is important because part of the commuter belt and suburbs extend into neighboring France: France.
History and institutions
Geneva's recorded history includes a medieval bishopric and later a republican city-state. It gained prominence during the Reformation and the scholar John Calvin was instrumental in establishing a Protestant theological and educational center; the University of Geneva traces its origins to 1559. During the 19th century Geneva joined the Swiss Confederation and evolved into a hub for international governance.
International role and economy
Geneva hosts numerous international organizations and diplomatic missions, which shape its economy and public life. Important organizations and agencies based in the canton include:
- United Nations and related agencies (several UN offices and specialised agencies)
- International Committee of the Red Cross and other humanitarian bodies
- World Trade and intellectual property institutions, and global non-governmental organizations
Beyond diplomacy, the regional economy features finance and banking, private and public sector services, high-tech research, biomedicine, and a long-standing watchmaking and precision engineering tradition.
Transport, cooperation and notable facts
Geneva is well connected by rail, road and an international airport. The canton participates in cross-border cooperation with French departments to manage transport, housing and environmental planning. Notable landmarks and features include the shores of Lake Geneva, the Jet d'Eau fountain in the city, the historic old town, and a compact territory that makes the canton one of the most densely populated and internationally oriented regions of Switzerland.
Geography
The canton of Geneva forms the southwestern tip of Switzerland. It is located in Romandy (French-speaking Switzerland) and is almost completely surrounded by French territory: its border with France - and its departments of Ain and Haute-Savoie - is 103, while that with the Swiss canton of Vaud is only 4.5 kilometres long.
The canton encloses the southwestern end of Lake Geneva, at the outflow of the Rhone towards the Mediterranean. The second important river is the Arve, which, coming from Chamonix, joins the Rhone in Geneva. The canton lies in the "Geneva basin" ("cuvette genevoise") between the four highest peaks of the Jura mountain range and the French mountains of Vuache, Salève and Voirons. The landscape is hilly. The highest point (516 m above sea level) is boundary stone No. 141 at Les Arales near the hamlet of La Monniaz in the municipality of Jussy, the lowest point (340 m above sea level) is also the westernmost point of Switzerland and lies on the Rhone near Chancy.
The political commune of Céligny forms two exclaves of the canton of Geneva in the canton of Vaud on the right bank of Lake Geneva.
Population
As of 31 December 2019, the population of the Canton of Geneva was 504,128, with a population density of 1785 inhabitants per square kilometre, well above the Swiss average (208 inhabitants per square kilometre). The proportion of foreigners (registered residents without Swiss citizenship) was 40.0 per cent on 31 December 2019, compared to 25.3 per cent registered foreigners nationwide. As of January 31, 2021, the unemployment rate was 5.6 percent compared to 3.7 percent at the federal level.
Languages
The official language is French. Sign language is recognised (Art. 16 Geneva Constitution).
The original language of the region, Franco-Provençal, was replaced by French at the level of the chancery language in the late Middle Ages, but persisted at the dialectal level until the 20th century, particularly in the communes that were Savoyard until 1815. Today, the Genevan patois is extinct.
81 percent of the canton's population report French, 11 percent English, 10 percent Portuguese, 8 percent Spanish, 7 percent Italian and 5 percent German as their main language(s). (Due to multiple responses, the total does not add up to 100 percent).
Religions - Denominations
The areas that had already belonged to Geneva before 1815 are traditionally Reformed, while those that were annexed at the Congress of Vienna, formerly French and Savoyard, are traditionally Catholic. As a result of strong immigration from Swiss mountain regions and southern Europe, the Catholic proportion of the population has increased sharply. State and church have been separated since 1907 according to the French model.
According to a nationwide survey on religion conducted by the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) in 2014, 43 per cent of the inhabitants of the canton of Geneva identify themselves as Catholic, 10 per cent as Reformed and 27 per cent as non-denominational. The remaining 20 percent are mostly followers of other Christian denominations (including Evangelicals) and Muslims. Just under half (49%) of the canton's population describe themselves as spiritual and only a good third (35%) as religious. 44% of the population believe in life after death, 30% do not believe in it and a further 26% are undecided or do not know the answer.
Related articles
Author
AlegsaOnline.com Canton of Geneva Leandro Alegsa
URL: https://en.alegsaonline.com/art/38002
Sources
- bfs.admin.ch : Arealstatistik Land Cover - Kantone und Grossregionen nach 6 Hauptbereichen
- pxweb.bfs.admin.ch : Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB
- commons.wikimedia.org : Canton of Geneva