Kochi ([koˈtːʃi ] (About this soundlisten)), formerly known in English as Cochin (/ˈkoʊtʃɪn/ KOH-chin)[9] is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala and is often referred to as Ernakulam. Kochi is the most densely populated city in Kerala. As of 2011, it has a corporation limit population of 677,381[4] within an area of 94.88 km2 and a total urban population of more than of 2.1 million within an area of 440 km2, making it the largest and the most populous metropolitan area in Kerala. Kochi city is also part of the Greater Cochin region[10][11] and is classified as a Tier-II city by the Government of India. The civic body that governs the city is the Kochi Municipal Corporation, which was constituted in the year 1967, and the statutory bodies that oversee its development are the Greater Cochin Development Authority[12] (GCDA) and the Goshree Islands Development Authority (GIDA).[13]

Called the "Queen of the Arabian Sea", Kochi was an important spice trading centre on the west coast of India from the 14th century onward, and maintained a trade network with Arab merchants from the pre-Islamic era. Occupied by the Portuguese in 1503, Kochi was the first of the European colonies in colonial India. There are still buildings like the Old Harbour House from this period, some of which have been renovated in more recent times. The city was later occupied by the Dutch and the British, with the Kingdom of Cochin becoming a princely state. Kochi ranks first in the total number of international and domestic tourist arrivals in Kerala.[14][15] The city was ranked the sixth best tourist destination in India according to a survey conducted by the Nielsen Company on behalf of the Outlook Traveller magazine.[16] In October 2019, Kochi was ranked seventh in Lonely Planet's list of top 10 cities in the world to visit in 2020.[17][18] Kochi was one of the 28 Indian cities among the emerging 440 global cities that will contribute 50% of the world GDP by the year 2025, in a 2011 study done by the McKinsey Global Institute.[19] In July 2018, Kochi was ranked the topmost emerging future megacity in India by global professional services firm JLL.[20][21]

Kochi is known as the financial,[22][23] commercial[24][25] and industrial[26][27] capital of Kerala. It has the highest GDP as well as the highest GDP per capita in the state.[28][29] The city is home to the Southern Naval Command of the Indian Navy and is the state headquarters[30][31] of the Indian Coast Guard with an attached air squadron, named Air Squadron 747.[32] Commercial maritime facilities of the city include the Port of Kochi, an International Container Transshipment Terminal, the Cochin Shipyard, offshore SPM of the BPCL Kochi Refinery[33] and the Kochi Marina. Kochi is home for the International Pepper Exchange, Marine Products Export Development Authority, Coconut Development Board, companies like HMT, Apollo Tyres FACT, IREL, Petronet LNG, Kochi Refineries, V-Guard and industrial parks like the Cochin Special Economic Zone, Smart City, Infopark and Kinfra Hi-Tech Park. Kochi is home for the High Court of Kerala and Lakshadweep, Naval Physical and Oceanographic Laboratory , Indian Maritime University, Sree Sankaracharya Sanskrit University and the Cochin University of Science and Technology, National Law School and National University of Advanced Legal Studies. Kochi was earlier home to Cochin Stock Exchange (CSE).
Kochi has been hosting India's first art biennale, the Kochi-Muziris Biennale, since 2012, which attracts international artists and tourists.