Canton of Geneva

The Canton of Geneva, officially the Republic and Canton of Geneva, is the French-speaking, westernmost canton of Switzerland. It lies at the western end of Lake Geneva on both sides of the Rhone, and within Switzerland it borders only Vaud, since most of its frontier is with France. It is composed of forty-five municipalities, and the government and parliament sit in the city of Geneva, which together with its suburbs makes up most of the canton. Like Ticino, Neuchâtel and Jura, Geneva calls itself a republic within the Confederation. The canton is a centre of the Calvinist Reformation and hosts institutions of international importance, among them the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross and CERN. It joined the Swiss Confederation in 1815 as the 22nd canton.