Bochum is a city located in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It sits on the Ruhr Heights hill chain between the rivers Ruhr to the south and Emscher to the north. The city serves as a central location within the Ruhr, which is Germany's largest urban area, and it belongs to the region of Arnsberg.
With a population of 372,348, Bochum is the sixth-largest city in North Rhine-Westphalia and the 16th-largest city in Germany. It ranks as the second largest city of Westphalia after Dortmund and the fourth largest city of the Ruhr region. The city is part of the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Region, which is the second largest metropolitan region by GDP in the European Union.
The city is a significant center for higher education, hosting nine different institutions. These include the Bochum University of Applied Sciences and the Ruhr University Bochum, which is one of the ten largest universities in Germany.