In spoken French, it is referred to as le dix-septième (pronounced [lə di sɛtjɛm]; "the seventeenth").

It borders the inner suburbs of Neuilly-sur-Seine, Levallois-Perret and Clichy in Hauts-de-Seine to the northwest, as well as Saint-Ouen-sur-Seine in Seine-Saint-Denis to the northeast.

Today, the arrondissement remains dense in population and business activity, with 160,860 inhabitants and 92,267 jobs as of the 1999 census.

In terms of primary and secondary education, the arrondissement includes numerous public and private schools.

Notably, the Lycée Carnot, located in the district, is one of the most renowned public secondary schools in the area, offering a wide range of general and specialized courses.

A prominent private school is the École Privée Sainte-Marie des Batignolles, which provides a Catholic education with an emphasis on both academics and personal development.