International Organizations have been created to address matters of global concern and shared interests, providing a platform for political initiatives, prevent conflicts, and mediate political bargaining. They act as a framework for coalition-formation for its member nations. Moreover, they also facilitate cooperation and coordination among member nations.
Questions on international organisations are often asked in the General Studies paper of UPSC. Read on for the compiled list of international organisations relevant for UPSC, along with their headquarters and year of foundation.
There are two types of international organisations, which are:
Here’s a list of International Organisations that are relevant for UPSC as well as other competitive exams. Study this in detail to ensure you mark the correct answer in the exam.
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International Organisations List for UPSC |
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Organisation |
Headquarters |
Year |
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International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) |
Geneva, Switzerland |
1863 |
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Universal Postal Union (UPU) |
Berne |
1874 |
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International Olympic Committee (IOC) |
Lausanne, Switzerland |
1894 |
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The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) |
Zurich, Switzerland |
1904 |
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International Shooting Sports Federation (ISSF) |
Munich, Germany |
1907 |
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International Cricket Council (ICC) |
Dubai, UAE |
1909 |
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International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) |
Monaco |
1912 |
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International LabourOrganisation (ILO) |
Geneva, Switzerland |
1919 |
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International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) |
Zurich, Switzerland |
1919 |
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International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) |
Monaco |
1921 |
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International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) |
Lyon, France |
1923 |
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Federation international des échecs or World Chess Federation (FIDE) |
Athens, Greece |
1924 |
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International Hockey Federation (FIH) |
Lausanne, Switzerland |
1924 |
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Bank for International Settlements (BIS) |
Basel, Switzerland |
1930 |
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Commonwealth of Nations |
London, UK |
1931 |
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The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) |
Washington D.C. |
1944 |
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World Bank (WB) |
Washington DC, US |
1944 |
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United Nations Organization (UN) |
New York, US |
1945 |
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United Nations Education Scientific & Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) |
Paris, France |
1945 |
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The International Air Transport Association (IATA) |
Montreal, Canada |
1945 |
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The Arab League |
Al Tahrir Sq., Cairo, Egypt |
1945 |
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International Monetary Fund (IMF) |
Washington DC, US |
1945 |
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International Court of Justice (ICJ) |
The Hague, The Netherland |
1945 |
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Food & Agricultural Organisation (FAO) |
Rome, Italy |
1945 |
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United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) |
New York, US |
1946 |
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International Organization for Standardization (ISO) |
Geneva |
1947 |
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World Health Organization (WHO) |
Geneva, Switzerland |
1948 |
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International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) |
Gland, Switzerland |
1948 |
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International Maritime Organisation |
London, UK |
1948 |
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North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) |
Brussels, Belgium |
1949 |
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World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) |
Geneva, Switzerland |
1950 |
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International Finance Corporation (IFC) |
Washington D.C. |
1956 |
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International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) |
Washington D.C. |
1957 |
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International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) |
Vienna |
1957 |
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International Atomic Agency |
Vienna, Austria |
1957 |
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Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) |
Vienna, Austria |
1960 |
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Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) |
Paris, France |
1961 |
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World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) |
Gland, Vaud, Switzerland |
1961 |
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Amnesty International |
London, UK |
1961 |
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United Nations Conference on Trade & Development (UNCTAD) |
Geneva, Switzerland |
1964 |
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United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) |
Vienna, Austria |
1966 |
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Asian Development Bank (ADB) |
Manila, Philippines |
1966 |
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World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO) |
Geneva, Switzerland |
1967 |
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Association of South East Nations (ASEAN) |
Jakarta, Indonesia |
1967 |
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United Nations Populations Fund (UNFPA) |
New York, US |
1969 |
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Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) |
Jeddah |
1969 |
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World Economic Forum (WEF) |
Geneva, Switzerland |
1971 |
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Médecins Sans Frontières or Doctors without Borders (MSF) |
Geneva, Switzerland |
1971 |
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Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) |
Riyadh, SaudiArabia |
1981 |
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South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) |
Kathmandu, Nepal |
1985 |
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Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) |
Washington D.C. |
1988 |
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Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) |
Singapore |
1989 |
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Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) |
Minsk Russia |
1991 |
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Transparency International (TI) |
Berlin |
1993 |
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World Trade Organisation (WTO) |
Geneva, Switzerland |
1995 |
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Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation (IORA) |
Ebene, Mauritius |
1997 |
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The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) |
The Hague, The Netherlands |
1997 |
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Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) |
Los Angeles, USA |
1998 |
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The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) |
Beijing China |
2001 |
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African Union |
Addis Ababa, Ethiopia |
2001 |
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International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) |
Abu Dhabi (UAE) |
2009 |
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UN Women (UW) |
New York |
2010 |
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New Development Bank (BRICS Development Bank) |
Shanghai, China |
2014 |
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International Solar Alliance (ISA) |
Haryana, India |
2015 |
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Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) |
Beijing, China |
2016 |
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Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) |
New Delhi, India |
2019 |
India’s International Relations are largely attributed to the international organizations that the country is associated with. Hence, it is important to remember the international organizations of which India is a member. These international organizations are often asked in USPC Prelims and other one day examinations.
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International Organisations with India as a member |
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International Organization |
Headquarters |
Year of Foundation |
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ITU - International Telecommunication Union |
Geneva, Switzerland |
1864 |
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IOC - International Olympic Committee |
Lausanne, Switzerland |
1894 |
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PCA - Permanent Court of Arbitration |
Hague, Netherlands |
1899 |
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ICC - International Chamber of Commerce |
Paris, France |
1919 |
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ILO - International Labour Organization |
Geneva, Switzerland |
1919 |
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Interpol - International Criminal Police Organization |
Lyon, France |
1923 |
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BIS - Bank for International Settlements |
Basel, Switzerland |
1930 |
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CoN - Commonwealth of Nations |
London, UK |
1931 |
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IBRD - International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank) |
Washington DC, US |
1944 |
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ICAO - International Civil Aviation Organization |
Montreal, Canada |
1944 |
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FAO - Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |
Rome, Italy |
1945 |
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IMF - International Monetary Fund |
Washington DC, US |
1945 |
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UN - United Nations |
New York |
1945 |
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UNESCO - United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation |
London, UK |
1946 |
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ISO - International Organization for Standardization |
Geneva, Switzerland |
1947 |
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IMO - International Maritime Organization |
London, UK |
1948 |
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IDA - International Development Association |
Washington DC |
1950 |
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CP - Colombo Plan |
Colombo, Sri Lanka |
1950 |
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EAS - East Asia Summit |
Colombo, Sri Lanka |
1950 |
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CERN - European Organization for Nuclear Research |
Geneva, Switzerland |
1954 |
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AALCO - Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization |
New Delhi |
1956 |
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ADB - Asian Development Bank |
Manila, Philippines |
1956 |
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IFC - International Finance Corporation |
Washington DC, US |
1956 |
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IAEA - International Atomic Energy Agency |
Vienna, Austria |
1957 |
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ITSO - International Telecommunications Satellite Organization |
Washington DC |
1964 |
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G-77 - Group of 77 |
New York |
1964 |
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AfDB - African Development Bank (non-regional members) |
Tunis, Tunisia |
1964 |
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ASEAN Regional Forum - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations |
Jakarta, Indonesia |
1967 |
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NAM - Non-Aligned Movement |
Jakarta, Indonesia |
1961 |
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IEA - International Energy Agency |
Paris, France |
1974 |
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IFAD - International Fund for Agricultural Development |
Rome, Italy |
1977 |
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PIF - Pacific Islands Forum (partner) |
Suva, Fiji |
1971 |
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SACEP - South Asia Co-operative Environment Programme |
Colombo, Sri Lanka |
1982 |
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SAARC - South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation |
Kathmandu, Nepal |
1985 |
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AG - Australia Group |
Brussels, Belgium |
1985 |
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G-15 - Group of 15 |
Geneva, Switzerland |
1989 |
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MTCR - Missile Technology Control Regime |
Japan |
1987 |
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G-20 - Group of 20 |
Cancun, Mexico |
1999 |
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IMSO - International Mobile Satellite Organization |
London, UK |
1999 |
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UNAIDS - United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS |
New York |
1994 |
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OPCW - Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons |
Hague, Netherlands |
1997 |
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BIMSTEC - Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation |
Dhaka, Bangladesh |
1997 |
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SCO - Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (member) |
Beijing, China |
1996 |
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BRICS - Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa |
Shanghai, China |
2006 |
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ITUC - International Trade Union Confederation |
Brussels, Belgium |
2006 |
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IPEEC - International Partnership for Energy Efficiency Cooperation |
Paris, France |
2009 |
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International Solar Alliance (ISA) |
Haryana, India |
2015 |
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Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) |
New Delhi, India |
2019 |
Also read: Nicknames of Famous Indian Personalities Article 21 Indus Valley Civilisation
The United Nations (UN) is the world’s largest international organisation. It comprises 193 member states. It was formed with the aim of maintaining peace & security internationally, promoting social and economic development, and protecting human rights.
The latest country to join the UN was South Sudan, in 2011. No new country has joined since.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) deals with global health emergencies.
