International Organizations: Headquarters and Founding Years in One Place
A revision guide to the international organizations most asked about in tests: the UN and its agencies, OIC, SAARC, ECO, SCO, NATO, ASEAN, OPEC and more.
By the World MCQ Forum Editorial Team · 27 October 2026 · 2 min read
Questions on international organizations usually ask one of three things: where the headquarters is, when the organization was founded, or what it does. Grouping organizations by type makes them far easier to remember than one long list.
The United Nations
- Founded: the Charter was signed in San Francisco on 26 June 1945 and came into force on 24 October 1945 (UN Day).
- Headquarters: New York.
- Security Council: 15 members, including 5 permanent members with veto power: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.
- Official languages: six (Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish).
- First Secretary-General: Trygve Lie of Norway.
- Pakistan joined on 30 September 1947 and holds a non-permanent Security Council seat for 2025–2026.
UN agencies and bodies
| Organization | Headquarters | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| UNESCO | Paris | Education, science and culture |
| WHO | Geneva | Global health |
| ILO | Geneva | Labour standards (founded 1919) |
| FAO | Rome | Food and agriculture |
| IAEA | Vienna | Peaceful use of nuclear energy |
| UNEP | Nairobi | Environment |
| UNICEF | New York | Children’s welfare |
| International Court of Justice | The Hague | Disputes between states |
Memory tip: Geneva hosts the health and labour agencies (WHO, ILO), as well as the WTO; Paris hosts culture (UNESCO); Rome hosts food (FAO).
Financial and trade organizations
| Organization | Headquarters | Key fact |
|---|---|---|
| IMF | Washington, D.C. | Created at Bretton Woods, 1944 |
| World Bank | Washington, D.C. | Created at Bretton Woods, 1944 |
| WTO | Geneva | Replaced GATT on 1 January 1995 |
| OPEC | Vienna | Founded in Baghdad in 1960 |
Regional and Muslim-world organizations
| Organization | Headquarters / Secretariat | Key fact |
|---|---|---|
| OIC | Jeddah | Founded in Rabat, 1969 |
| SAARC | Kathmandu | Founded in Dhaka, 1985 |
| ECO | Tehran | Founding members: Pakistan, Iran, Turkey |
| SCO | Beijing | Pakistan became a full member in 2017 |
| ASEAN | Jakarta | Founded in Bangkok, 1967 |
| Arab League | Cairo | Founded 1945 |
| NATO | Brussels | Founded 4 April 1949 |
Watch for the trap: several organizations were founded in one city but are headquartered in another (OIC: Rabat / Jeddah; SAARC: Dhaka / Kathmandu; ASEAN: Bangkok / Jakarta; OPEC: Baghdad / Vienna). Exams love this distinction.
Older and humanitarian bodies
- League of Nations: set up in 1920, headquartered in Geneva, dissolved in 1946.
- International Committee of the Red Cross: founded in Geneva in 1863 through the efforts of Henry Dunant.
Revision tip
Make two columns from memory: “founded in” and “headquartered in”. Fill in what you remember, then check against the tables above. The gaps show you exactly what to revise.
Then test yourself with our International Organizations MCQs.