Wikipedia

List of national capitals

This is a list of national capitals, including capitals of territories and dependencies, non-sovereign states including associated states and entities whose sovereignty is disputed.

The capitals included on this list are those associated with states or territories listed by the international standard ISO 3166-1, or that are included in the list of states with limited recognition.

Sovereign states and observer states within the United Nations are shown in bold text.

List

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The column headings may cover the first row when the letter links are used.

City/Town Country/Territory Continent Notes
Abidjan (former capital; still hosts some government offices)   Ivory Coast (Côte d'Ivoire) Africa Abidjan is the largest city in Ivory Coast and is officially designated as the economic capital.
Yamoussoukro (de jure)
Abu Dhabi   United Arab Emirates Asia
Abuja   Nigeria Africa Lagos was the capital from 1914 to 1991.
Accra   Ghana
Adamstown   Pitcairn Islands Oceania British Overseas Territory.
Addis Ababa   Ethiopia Africa
Aden (de facto, temporary)   Yemen Asia Yemen is in a state of civil war, and Sanaa has been occupied by Houthi rebels since September 2014. Aden, the former capital of South Yemen, is Yemen's acting capital.
Sanaa (de jure)
Episkopi Cantonment   Akrotiri and Dhekelia Asia British Overseas Territory.
Algiers   Algeria Africa
Alofi   Niue Oceania Self-governing in free association with New Zealand. Government offices are spread across both Alofi North and Alofi South.
Amman   Jordan Asia
Amsterdam (official)   Netherlands Europe The Dutch government is situated in The Hague, which also hosts the monarch, government ministries, judiciary and diplomatic missions. See also Capital of the Netherlands.
The Hague (de facto)
Andorra la Vella   Andorra
Ankara   Turkey Asia Ankara became capital of the newly-formed Republic of Turkey in 1923, after the Turkish War of Independence. The capital of Turkey's predecessor, the Ottoman Empire, was Constantinople.
Antananarivo   Madagascar Africa
Apia   Samoa Oceania
Ashgabat   Turkmenistan Asia
Asmara   Eritrea Africa
Astana   Kazakhstan Asia Astana was named Nur-Sultan from 2019 to 2022. Almaty was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1991 to 1997 and its predecessor the Kazakh SSR from 1929 to 1991.
Asunción   Paraguay South America
Athens   Greece Europe
Avarua   Cook Islands Oceania Self-governing in free association with New Zealand. The capital is sometimes incorrectly stated as Rarotonga, the island on which Avarua is located.
Baghdad   Iraq Asia
Baku   Azerbaijan
Bamako   Mali Africa
Bandar Seri Begawan   Brunei Asia
Bangkok   Thailand
Bangui   Central African Republic Africa
Banjul   Gambia
Basseterre   Saint Kitts and Nevis North America
Beijing   China Asia See also: Historical capitals of China.
Beirut   Lebanon
Belgrade   Serbia Europe
Belmopan   Belize North America Belize City was the capital of Belize's predecessor, British Honduras.
Berlin   Germany Europe Bonn was the capital of West Germany and remained the seat of government for reunified Germany until 1999, and is still the primary seat of six ministries. See also Capital of Germany.
Bern (de facto)   Switzerland
Bishkek   Kyrgyzstan Asia
Bissau   Guinea-Bissau Africa
Bloemfontein (judicial)   South Africa
Cape Town (legislative)
Pretoria (executive)
Bogotá   Colombia South America
Brades (de facto)   Montserrat North America British Overseas Territory. Plymouth was abandoned after the Soufrière Hills volcano erupted in 1997. Since then, government offices have been moved to Brades, which is in northwestern Montserrat. A new capital, Little Bay, is currently under construction.
Plymouth (de jure)
Brasília   Brazil South America Rio de Janeiro was the capital until 1960. See also: Capitals of Brazil.
Bratislava   Slovakia Europe
Brazzaville   Congo Africa
Bridgetown   Barbados North America
Brussels   Belgium
 Europe Brussels also serves as de facto capital of the European Union.[1]
  European Union (de facto)
Bucharest   Romania
Budapest   Hungary See also: List of historical capitals of Hungary.
Buenos Aires   Argentina South America
Cairo   Egypt Africa A new capital is being built at the New Administrative Capital. It might be named Egypt. See also: List of historical capitals of Egypt.
Canberra   Australia Oceania Planned city built to mitigate the rivalry between Melbourne (de facto capital at the time) and Sydney (economic capital and most populous city), both of which were put forward as potential capitals in the Australasia Federation Conventions of the 1890s. Section 125 of the Constitution gives basic details about the location of the capital, size of the encompassing territory and so forth, while the Seat of Government Act 1908 specified its precise location.
Caracas   Venezuela South America
Castries   Saint Lucia North America
Charlotte Amalie   United States Virgin Islands Territory of the United States.
Chișinău   Moldova Europe
Cockburn Town   Turks and Caicos Islands North America British Overseas Territory.
Colombo (executive, judicial)   Sri Lanka Asia Until 1982, the capital was Colombo, where many governmental institutions remain; it is still designated as the commercial capital of Sri Lanka. See also: Capital of Sri Lanka.
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (official) Also known as Kotte, the city is a suburb of Colombo.
Conakry   Guinea Africa
Copenhagen   Denmark Europe
Cotonou (de facto)   Benin Africa
Porto-Novo (official)
Dakar   Senegal
Damascus   Syria Asia
Dhaka   Bangladesh
Dili   East Timor
Djibouti   Djibouti Africa
Dodoma   Tanzania Dar es Salaam, the former capital and largest city, still hosts some government ministries, the judiciary, and diplomatic missions.
Doha   Qatar Asia
Douglas   Isle of Man Europe British Crown Dependency.
Dublin   Ireland
Dushanbe   Tajikistan Asia
Edinburgh of the Seven Seas   Tristan da Cunha Part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
Flying Fish Cove   Christmas Island External territory of Australia.
Freetown   Sierra Leone Africa
Saint-Pierre (administration)   French Southern and Antarctic Lands Overseas territory of France. The French Southern and Antarctic Lands do not have an official capital. The territory is administered from Saint-Pierre, Réunion.
Funafuti   Tuvalu Oceania
Gaborone   Botswana Africa
George Town   Cayman Islands North America British Overseas Territory.
Georgetown   Ascension Island Part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
Georgetown   Guyana South America
Gibraltar   Gibraltar Europe British Overseas Territory and city-state.
Gitega (de jure)   Burundi Africa Bujumbura was the capital from 1962 to 2018.
Bujumbura (de facto)
Guatemala City   Guatemala North America
Gustavia   Saint Barthélemy Overseas collectivity of France.
Hagåtña   Guam Oceania Territory of the United States.
Hamilton   Bermuda North America British Overseas Territory.
Hanoi   Vietnam Asia See also: List of historical capitals of Vietnam.
Harare   Zimbabwe Africa
Hargeisa   Somaliland Africa De facto independent state, deemed by the UN to be de jure part of Somalia.
Havana   Cuba North America
Helsinki   Finland Europe
Honiara   Solomon Islands Oceania Honiara is a settlement on the island of Guadalcanal.
Islamabad   Pakistan Asia Karachi served as the first capital of Pakistan from 1948. A planned capital, Islamabad, was then designated, and in 1958, as an interim measure, the capital was shifted to Rawalpindi, near to the future capital. Islamabad became capital in 1967 when its construction was completed.
Jakarta (de facto)   Indonesia The capital will soon be moved to Nusantara on Borneo. See also: Capital of Indonesia.
Nusantara
Jamestown   Saint Helena Part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
Jerusalem   Israel Asia The Jerusalem Law states that "Jerusalem, complete and united, is the capital of Israel" and the city serves as the seat of the Israeli government and its institutions. United Nations Security Council Resolution 478 declared the Jerusalem Law "null and void" and called on member states to withdraw their diplomatic missions from Jerusalem. Nearly all countries currently have their embassies in and around Tel Aviv. Defying the UN,[2] the United States recognized Jerusalem as the capital and moved its embassy there in May 2018.[3] Many countries officially adhere to the proposal that Jerusalem should have international status, as called for in the 1947 Partition Plan.[4]
  Palestine
Ramallah (de facto) Asia
Juba   South Sudan Africa
Kabul   Afghanistan Asia
Kampala   Uganda Africa
Kathmandu   Nepal Asia
Khartoum   Sudan Africa
Kigali   Rwanda
King Edward Point   South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands British Overseas Territory.
Kingston   Jamaica North America
Kingston   Norfolk Island Oceania External territory of Australia.
Kingstown   Saint Vincent and the Grenadines North America
Kinshasa   Democratic Republic of the Congo Africa
Kuala Lumpur (de jure, legislative and royal)   Malaysia Asia
Putrajaya (administrative and judicial)
Kuwait City   Kuwait Asia
Kyiv   Ukraine Europe
La Paz (administrative)   Bolivia South America La Paz is the highest administrative capital (3,650 m) in the world, higher than Quito.[5]
Sucre (constitutional)
Laayoune (declared)   Western Sahara Africa The Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), recognized by 84 UN member states and South Ossetia, claims the mostly Moroccan-controlled Western Sahara. Moroccan-controlled territory includes Laayoune and Morocco claims all Sahrawi-controlled territory. Tifariti is the current temporary capital of the SADR (previously Bir Lehlou). Some government and military buildings reside in exile in Tindouf, Algeria.[6] See also: Politics of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
Tifariti (de facto)
Libreville   Gabon
Lilongwe   Malawi
Lima   Peru South America Cusco is declared the "historical capital" (Spanish: capital histórica), by Article 49 of the Peruvian Constitution, a merely symbolic statement. Arequipa is deemed the "legal capital" as it is the seat of the Constitutional Court.
Lisbon   Portugal Europe
Ljubljana   Slovenia
Lobamba (royal and legislative)   Eswatini Africa
Mbabane (administrative)
Lomé   Togo
London   United Kingdom Europe Prior to the Acts of Union in 1707, London was the capital of England only; Edinburgh was the capital of the Kingdom of Scotland. The United Kingdom also includes the subdivisions of   England (capital London),   Scotland (capital Edinburgh),   Wales (capital Cardiff),   Northern Ireland (capital Belfast).
London (administration)   British Indian Ocean Territory Asia British Overseas Territory. Officially, the British Indian Ocean Territory is administered from London,[7] though some consider the capital to be Diego Garcia.[8]
Diego Garcia (de facto)
Luanda   Angola Africa
Lusaka   Zambia
Luxembourg   Luxembourg Europe
Madrid   Spain
Majuro   Marshall Islands Oceania Self-governing in free association with the United States. The seat of government is at Delap-Uliga-Djarrit, a settlement on the atoll of Majuro.
Malabo   Equatorial Guinea Africa Ciudad de la Paz is currently under construction and will become the new capital when complete.[9]
Malé   Maldives Asia
Managua   Nicaragua North America
Manama   Bahrain Asia
Manila   Philippines
Maputo   Mozambique Africa
Mariehamn   Åland Islands Europe Autonomous region of Finland.
Marigot   Saint Martin North America Overseas collectivity of France.
Maseru   Lesotho Africa
Mata Utu   Wallis and Futuna Oceania Overseas collectivity of France.
Mexico City   Mexico North America
Minsk   Belarus Europe
Mogadishu   Somalia Africa
Monaco   Monaco Europe City-state. Monaco does not have a capital designated in its constitution; however, the Commune of Monaco, the country's only commune, is coterminous with the nation, making it the de facto capital.[10][11]
Monrovia   Liberia Africa
Montevideo   Uruguay South America
Moroni   Comoros Africa
Moscow   Russia Europe
Muscat   Oman Asia
Nairobi   Kenya Africa
Nassau   Bahamas, The North America
Naypyidaw   Myanmar Asia Yangon was the capital until 2006.[12] See also: List of capitals of Myanmar.
N'Djamena   Chad Africa
New Delhi   India Asia Calcutta was the capital of India until 1911 during the British Raj.
Ngerulmud   Palau Oceania Self-governing in free association with the United States. Koror City was the capital until 2006.
Niamey   Niger Africa
Nicosia   Cyprus
 Asia Nicosia is a divided capital, split between Cyprus, which claims the whole city, and the internationally unrecognized breakaway state of Northern Cyprus.
  Northern Cyprus
Nouakchott   Mauritania Africa
Nouméa   New Caledonia Oceania Overseas territory of France.
Nukuʻalofa   Tonga
Nuuk   Greenland North America Self-governing country within the Kingdom of Denmark.
Oranjestad   Aruba South America Self-governing country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Oslo   Norway Europe See also: List of historical capitals of Norway.
Ottawa   Canada North America
Ouagadougou   Burkina Faso Africa
Pago Pago   American Samoa Oceania Territory of the United States.
Palikir   Micronesia Self-governing in free association with the United States. Kolonia is the former capital and Australia, China, Japan and the United States retain embassies there.
Panama City   Panama North America
Papeete   French Polynesia Oceania Overseas collectivity of France.
Paramaribo   Suriname South America
Paris   France Europe See also: List of Capitals of France.
Philipsburg   Sint Maarten North America Self-governing country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Phnom Penh   Cambodia Asia
Podgorica   Montenegro Europe Cetinje has been designated the "Old Royal Capital" and is the present seat of the President.
Port Louis   Mauritius Africa
Port Moresby   Papua New Guinea Oceania
Port of Spain   Trinidad and Tobago South America
Port Vila   Vanuatu Oceania
Port-au-Prince   Haiti North America
Prague   Czech Republic Europe The Supreme Court of the Czech Republic is located in Brno.[13]
Praia   Cape Verde Africa
Pristina   Kosovo Europe De facto independent state that is recognized by 114 UN member states, Taiwan, the Cook Islands and Niue. Claimed in whole by Serbia as part of its Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. Kosovo has de facto control over most of the territory, with limited control in North Kosovo.
Pyongyang   North Korea Asia
Quito   Ecuador South America Highest official capital (2,850 m).[5]
Rabat   Morocco Africa
Reykjavík   Iceland Europe
Riga   Latvia
Riyadh   Saudi Arabia Asia
Road Town   British Virgin Islands North America British Overseas Territory.
Rome   Italy Europe
Roseau   Dominica North America
Rothera   British Antarctic Territory Antarctica British Overseas Territory
Saipan   Northern Mariana Islands Oceania Territory of the United States. The seat of government is at Capitol Hill, a settlement on the island of Saipan.
San José   Costa Rica North America
San Juan   Puerto Rico Territory of the United States.
San Marino   San Marino Europe
San Salvador   El Salvador North America
Santiago   Chile South America The National Congress of Chile is located in Valparaíso.
Santo Domingo   Dominican Republic North America
São Tomé   São Tomé and Príncipe Africa
Sarajevo   Bosnia and Herzegovina Europe
Seoul   South Korea Asia On 2 July 2012, some government functions moved to Sejong City, which became the de facto administrative capital.
Singapore   Singapore City-state.
Skopje   North Macedonia Europe
Sofia   Bulgaria
South Tarawa   Kiribati Oceania South Tarawa is a settlement on the atoll of Tarawa.
St. George's   Grenada North America
St. Helier   Jersey Europe British Crown Dependency.
St. John's   Antigua and Barbuda North America
St. Peter Port   Guernsey Europe British Crown Dependency.
St. Pierre   Saint Pierre and Miquelon North America Overseas collectivity of France.
Stanley   Falkland Islands South America British Overseas Territory.
Stockholm   Sweden Europe
Sukhumi   Abkhazia Asia/Europe De facto independent state recognized by Russia, Nauru, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Syria. Claimed in whole by Georgia as the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia.
Suva   Fiji Oceania
Taipei   Taiwan Asia Officially the Republic of China, it has been competing for recognition with the People's Republic of China as the sole Chinese government since 1949. Taiwan controls the island of Taiwan and the associated islands Quemoy, Matsu, the Pratas, and part of the Spratly Islands.[Note 1] Its territory is claimed in whole by the People's Republic of China.[Note 2] The Republic of China participates in the World Health Organization and a number of non-UN international organizations such as the World Trade Organization, the International Olympic Committee and others under a variety of pseudonyms, most commonly Chinese Taipei.
Tallinn   Estonia Europe
Tashkent   Uzbekistan Asia
Tbilisi   Georgia Asia/Europe From 2012 to 2018, Kutaisi served as Georgia's legislative capital. Additionally, Mtskheta is sometimes called an "ancient capital" of Georgia.[14][15]
Tegucigalpa   Honduras North America Comayagüela is declared in the Honduran Constitution as co-official capital with Tegucigalpa.[16] The cities have since merged into a single urban area.
Comayagüela
Tehran   Iran Asia
Thimphu   Bhutan
Tirana   Albania Europe
Tiraspol   Transnistria De facto independent state, not recognized by any UN member, only by Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Claimed in whole by Moldova as the autonomous territorial unit of Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester
Tokyo   Japan Asia See also: Capital of Japan.
Tórshavn   Faroe Islands Europe Self-governing country within the Kingdom of Denmark.
Tripoli   Libya Africa
Tskhinvali   South Ossetia Asia/Europe De facto independent state recognized by Russia, Nauru, Nicaragua, Venezuela, and Syria. Claimed in whole by Georgia as the Provisional Administration of South Ossetia.
Tunis   Tunisia Africa
Ulaanbaatar   Mongolia Asia
Vaduz   Liechtenstein Europe
Valletta   Malta
The Valley   Anguilla North America British Overseas Territory.
Vatican City   Vatican City Europe City-state.
Victoria   Seychelles Africa
Vienna   Austria Europe
Vientiane   Laos Asia
Vilnius   Lithuania Europe
Warsaw   Poland Former capitals listed in Template:Historical capitals of Poland.
Washington, D.C.   United States North America The capital of the United States has moved several times. See also: National capitals of the United States.
Wellington   New Zealand Oceania Since 1865. Wellington is New Zealand's third capital. See also: Capital of New Zealand.
West Island   Cocos (Keeling) Islands External territory of Australia.
Willemstad   Curaçao Self-governing country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Windhoek   Namibia Africa
Yaoundé   Cameroon
Yaren (de facto)   Nauru Oceania Nauru has no official capital; however, the government offices are in Yaren.
Yerevan   Armenia Asia
Zagreb   Croatia Europe

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Sovereignty over the Spratly Islands is disputed by the PRC, the ROC, Vietnam, the Philippines (part), Malaysia (part), and Brunei (part).
  2. ^ In 1949, the Republic of China government led by the Kuomintang (KMT) lost the Chinese Civil War to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and set up a provisional capital in Taipei. The CCP established the People's Republic. As such, the political status of the ROC and the legal status of Taiwan (alongside the territories under ROC jurisdiction) are in dispute. In 1971, the United Nations gave the China seat to the PRC instead of the ROC: most states recognize the PRC to be the sole legitimate representative of all China, and the UN classifies Taiwan as "Taiwan, Province of China". The ROC has de facto relations with most sovereign states. A significant political movement within Taiwan advocates Taiwan independence.

References

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  1. ^ Cybriwsky, Roman Adrian (2013). Capital Cities around the World: An Encyclopedia of Geography, History, and Culture. ABC-CLIO. p. 64. ISBN 978-1-61069-248-9. Brussels, the capital of Belgium, is considered to be the de facto capital of the EU
  2. ^ https://press.un.org/en/2017/ga11995.doc.htm
  3. ^ See the CIA Factbook and Map of Israel
  4. ^ Sharkansky, Ira (1996). Governing Jerusalem: Again on the world's agenda. Wayne State University Press. p. 23. ISBN 0-8143-2592-0.
  5. ^ a b Jacobs, Frank (19 June 2012). "Amazonia or Bust!". New York Times. Retrieved 28 June 2012.
  6. ^ "CIA - The World Factbook -- Western Sahara". June 12, 2007. Archived from the original on 2007-06-12.
  7. ^ "Governance | British Indian Ocean Territory". www.biot.gov.io. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  8. ^ "British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT)" (PDF). Island Studies. University of Prince Edward Island.
  9. ^ Fortin, Jacey (19 December 2012). "Poverty-Stricken Equatorial Guinea Builds Expensive Capital City In The Middle Of Nowhere". International Business Times.
  10. ^ "Constitution of the Principality". Gouvernement Princier Principauté de Monaco. Principauté de Monaco. 17 December 1962. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  11. ^ "Monaco". Britannica. Retrieved 28 February 2020.
  12. ^ "Nay Pyi Taw | national capital, Myanmar | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2022-05-29.
  13. ^ "Countries With More Than One Capital City". WorldAtlas. 2022-10-30. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  14. ^ "Mtskheta | Ancient Capital, UNESCO Site | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  15. ^ "Georgia marks day of ancient capital Mtskheta, Svetitskhoveli UNESCO monument". Agenda.ge. Retrieved 2023-09-03.
  16. ^ "Constitution of Honduras" (PDF) (in Spanish). 2010-07-05. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-07-05. Retrieved 2022-11-17.
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