Gothenburg (/ˈɡɒθənbɜːrɡ/ ^ⓘ GOTH-ən-burg; Swedish: Göteborg [jœtɛˈbɔrj] ^ⓘ) is the second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gubernatorial seat of Västra Götaland County, with a population of approximately 600,000 in the city proper and about 1.1 million inhabitants in the metropolitan area.

King Gustavus Adolphus founded Gothenburg by royal charter in 1621 as a heavily fortified, primarily Dutch, trading colony. In addition to the generous privileges given to his Dutch allies during the ongoing Thirty Years' War, e.g. tax relaxation, he also attracted significant numbers of his German and Scottish allies to populate his only town on the western coast; this trading status was furthered by the founding of the Swedish East India Company. At a key strategic location at the mouth of the Göta älv, where Scandinavia's largest drainage basin enters the sea, the Port of Gothenburg is now the largest port in the Nordic countries. The presence of the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology has led Gothenburg to become home to many students. Volvo was founded in Gothenburg in 1927, with both Volvo Cars, and its original parent Volvo Group (today makers of trucks, buses and marine engines) still headquartered on the island of Hisingen in the city. Other key companies in the area are AstraZeneca, Ericsson, and SKF.

Gothenburg is served by Göteborg Landvetter Airport 25 km (16 mi) southeast of the city centre. The smaller Göteborg City Airport, 15 km (9.3 mi) from the city centre, was closed to regular airline traffic in 2015. The city hosts the Gothia Cup, the world's largest youth football tournament, and the Göteborg Basketball Festival, Europe's largest youth basketball tournament, alongside some of the largest annual events in Scandinavia. The Gothenburg Film Festival, held in January since 1979, is the leading Scandinavian film festival and attracts over 155,000 visitors each year. In summer, a wide variety of music festivals are held in the city, including the popular Way Out West Festival.

The city was named Göteborg in the city's charter in 1621 and simultaneously given the German and English name Gothenburg. The Swedish name was given after the Göta älv, called Göta River in English, and other cities ending in -borg. The city's name is often abbreviated to Gbg.

Both the Swedish and German/English names were in use before 1621 and had already been used for the previous city founded in 1604 that burned down in 1611. Gothenburg is one of few Swedish cities to still have an official and widely used exonym.

The city council of 1641 consisted of four Swedish, three Dutch, three German, and two Scottish members. In Dutch, Scots, English, and German, all languages with a long history in this trade and maritime-oriented city, the name Gothenburg is or was (in the case of German) used for the city.

Variations of the official German/English name Gothenburg in the city's 1621 charter existed or exist in many languages. The French form of the city name is Gothembourg, but in French texts, the Swedish name Göteborg is more frequent.

In 2003, the city decided to promote the name Göteborg in international contexts, a decision which was reversed six years later. However, the traditional forms ("Gothenburg" in English, or Gotemburgo in Spanish and Portuguese) are sometimes replaced with the use of the Swedish Göteborg, for example by The Göteborg Opera and the Göteborg Ballet. However, Göteborgs universitet, previously designated as the Göteborg University in English, changed its name to the University of Gothenburg in 2008. The Gothenburg municipality has also reverted to the use of the English name in international contexts.