Geneva

Geneva, at the western tip of Switzerland and almost entirely surrounded by France, has 537,084 residents, 401,982 jobs and 41,260 enterprises. It produced GDP of CHF 61.2 billion in 2022, the fourth-largest cantonal economy, and GDP per head of CHF 119,644, the third-highest. Employment grew by 9.1% between 2019 and 2024, the fourth-strongest increase of the 26 cantons, and by 1.5% in 2024. Unemployment was 5.2% in August 2026, the highest rate in Switzerland; according to SECO, Geneva's rate includes jobseekers on social assistance who are registered with the cantonal employment office.

Geneva's economy rests on finance, trading, international organisations and luxury manufacturing. Banking, insurance and financial services employ 31,437 people, 1.7 times the Swiss share and the second-highest concentration, with private banks such as Pictet and Lombard Odier, and the city is a centre of commodity trading, home to Mercuria among others. Staffing, facility and business-support services have the highest job share of any canton (10.4%), and real estate is also the most concentrated in Switzerland. Rolex and Patek Philippe make Geneva a watchmaking centre, with electronics, instruments and watches at 1.6 times the Swiss share. Procter & Gamble runs international operations from Lancy, Firmenich its fragrance business from Satigny and STMicroelectronics a site in Plan-les-Ouates. Geneva is also the European headquarters of the United Nations and home to organisations such as the WHO, the WTO and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

KPMG puts Geneva's top income tax rate at 43.24% for 2026, the highest in Switzerland, while the maximum effective corporate tax rate of 14.70% is close to the Swiss average of 14.43%. In ValIndex's board-paralysis study, 2,466 of 6,850 audited Geneva companies (36.0%) would be left without anyone able to sign if the principal signatory died.