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List of all the capitals of the world + 101 facts and trivia!

What are the capitals of the world? And what is the difference between a capital and a de facto capital? All these questions and many more fun facts and tidbits about capitals are answered in this new worldly article by Wereldreizigers.nl. Will you travel with us?

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Definition of a Capital

Each country is made up of multiple cities and each of these has its own importance in some of the other ways. Of these, one city is called the capital of the country. A capital is an area of ​​a country, province, region or state that is considered primary over any other city. In general, it can be said that these are often the largest or best accessible cities in the country.

All prominent offices, such as the Supreme Court and the parliament are usually located in the capital. The official leaders of the governing bodies usually work in the capital. Moreover, it is the capital where all the important leaders live, but there are also exceptions to everything we have just mentioned. Those exceptions will certainly pass in this article!

Amsterdam | The official capital of the Netherlands
Amsterdam | The official capital of the Netherlands

All capitals of the world | List (2022)

#CountryCapital
1Afghanistan. Kabul
2AlbaniaTirana
3AlgeriaAlgiers
4AndorraAndorra la Vella
5AngolaLuanda
6Antigua and BarbudaSaint John's
7ArgentinaBuenos Aires
8ArmeniaYerevan
9AustraliëCanberra
10AzerbaijanBaku
11BahamasNassau
12BahrainManama
13BangladeshDhaka
14BarbadosBridgetown
15BelgiumBrussels
16BelizeBelmopan
17BeninPorto-Novo
18BhutanThimphu
19BoliviaSucre (capital),
La Paz (de facto capital)
20Bosnia and HerzegovinaSarajevo
21BotswanaGaborone
22BrazilBrasilia
23BruneiBandar Seri Begawan
24BulgariaSofia
25Burkina FasoOuagadougou
26BurundiExpect it
27Cape VerdeBeaches
28CambodiaPhnom Penh,
29CanadaOttawa
30Central-African RepublicBangui
31ChileSantiago
32ChinaPeking
33ColombiaBogota,
34ComorosMoroni
35Congo, Democratic RepublicKinshasa
36Congo, Republic of theBrazzaville
37Costa RicaSan Jose
38CubaHavana
39CyprusNicosia
40DenmarkCopenhagen
41DjiboutiDjibouti (city)
42DominicaReed
43Dominican RepublicSanto Domingo
44GermanyBerlin
45EcuadorQuito
46EgyptCairo
47El SalvadorSan Salvador
48Equatorial GuineaMalabo (capital),
Oyala (de facto capital)
49eritreaAsmara
50EstoniaTallinn
51Eswatini
(formerly Swaziland)
Mbabane (administrative),
Lobamba (legislative, royal)
52EthiopiaAddis Ababa
53FijiSuva
54PhilippinesManila
55FinlandHelsinki
56FranceParis
57TogoLomé
58GabonLibreville
59GambiaBanjul
60GeorgiaTbilisi
61GhanaAccra
62GrenadaSaint Georges
63GreeceAthens
64GuatemalaGuatemala City
65GuineaConakry
66Guinea-BissauBissau
67GuyanaGeorgetown
68HaitiPort-au-Prince
69HondurasTegucigalpa
70HungaryBudapest
71IrelandDublin
72IcelandReykjavik
73IndiaNew Delhi
74IndonesiaJakarta
75IraqBaghdad
76IranTehran
77IsraelJerusalem
78ItalyRome
79Ivory CoastYamoussoukro
80JamaicaKingston
81JapanTokyo
82JordanAmman
83CameroonYaounde
84KazakhstanNur-Sultan
85KenyaNairobi
86KyrgyzstanBishkek
87KiribatiTarawa
88KuwaitKuwait City
89KosovoPristina
90Croatiadestination
91Laos. Vientiane
92LesothoMaseru
93LatviaRiga
94LebanonBeirut
95LiberiaMonrovia
96LibyaTripoli
97LiechtensteinVaduz
98LithuaniaVilnius
99LuxembourgLuxembourg (city)
100MadagascarAntananarivo
101MalawiLilongwe
102MaldivesMale
103MalaysiaKuala Lumpur
104MaliBamako
105MaltaValletta
106MoroccoRabat
107Marshall IslandsMajuro
108MauritaniaNouakchott
109MauritiusPort Louis
110MexicoMexico City
111Micronesiapalikir
112MoldaviaChisinau
113MonacoMonaco
114MongoliaUlaanbaatar
115MontenegroPodgorica
116MozambiqueMaputo
117Myanmar
(formerly Burma)
Naypyidaw
118NamibiaWindhoek
119NauruYaren District (de facto)
120The Netherlands Amsterdam
121NepalKathmandu,
122NicaraguaManagua
123New ZealandWellington
124NigerNiamey
125NigeriaAbuja
126North KoreaPyongyang
127Northern Macedonia
(formerly Macedonia)
Skopje
128NorwayOslo
129UgandaKampala
130UkraineKiev
131OmanMuscat
132East TimorDili
133AustriaVienna
134PakistanIslamabad
135palauNgerulmud
136PalestineJerusalem (East)
137PanamaPanama City
138Papua New GuineaPort Moresby
139ParaguayAssumption
140PeruLima
141PolandWarschau
142PortugalLisbon
143QatarDoha
144RomaniaBucharest
145RussiaMoscow
146RwandaKigali
147Saint Kitts and NevisBasseterre
148Saint LuciaCastries
149Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesKingstown
150SamoaApia
151San MarinoSan Marino
152Sao Tome and PrincipeSão Tomé
153Saudi ArabiaRiyadh
154SenegalDakar Rally
155SerbiaBelgrade
156SeychellesVictoria
157Sierra LeoneFreetown
158SingaporeSingapore
159SloveniaLjubljana
160SlovakiaBratislava
161SudanKhartoum
162Solomon IslandsHoniara
163SomaliaMogadishu
164SpainMadrid
165Sri LankaSri Jayawardenepura Kotte (District in Colombo)
166SurinameParamaribo
167SyrieDamascus
168TadjikistanDushanbe
169TaiwanTaipei
170TanzaniaDodoma
171ThailandBangkok
172TongaNuku'alofa
173Trinidad and TobagoPort of Spain (Port of Spain)
174ChadN'Djamena
175Czech RepublicPrague
176TunisiaTunis
177TurkeyAnkara
178TurkmenistanAshgabat
179TuvaluFunafuti
180UruguayMontevideo
181UzbekistanTashkent
182VanuatuPort Villa
183Vatican CityVatican
184VenezuelaCaracas
185United KingdomLondon
186United Arab EmiratesAbu Dhabi
187United StatesWashington, D.C.
188Vietnam Hanoi
189ByelorussiaMinsk
190YemenSana'a
191ZambiaLusaka
192ZimbabweHarare
193Southern SudanJuba
194South AfricaPretoria (administrative),
Cape Town (legislative),
Bloemfontein (judicial)
195South KoreaSeoul
196SwedenStockholm
197SwitzerlandBern

Purpose-built capitals

Most of the world's capitals are the country's largest or most historic cities. But not always. Many countries have moved or rebuilt their capital over the years, because the current capital was conquered by another country by war, or is located in a risk area. Relocation of the capital also occurs because it has become difficult to reach or simply less suitable due to crowds, pollution or other reasons. Below is a selection of the world's most famous capitals, which were built with the aim of becoming the new capital.

Washington DC | The official capital of the United States of America
Washington DC | The official capital of the United States of America
  • Abuja – Nigeria – founded in 1991 – former capital Lagos.
  • Ankara - Turkey – founded in 1923 – former capital Istanbul.
  • Astana – Kazakhstan – founded in 1998 – former capital Almaty.
  • Beijing – China – officially established in 1949 with the formation of the People's Republic.
  • Belmopan – Belize – founded in 1970 after the destruction of the former capital, Belize City, by the effects of a hurricane.
  • Brasilia- Brazil – founded in 1960 – former capital Rio de Janiero.
  • Canberra– Australië – newly established in 1913.
  • Islamabad – Pakistan – founded in 1960 – former capital Karachi.
  • Napyidaw – Myanmar – Founded in 2005 – former capital Rangoon / Yangon.
  • New Delhi- India – founded in 1911 – former capital Kolkata / Calcutta.
  • Ottawa– Canada – newly established in 1855.
  • Washington DC – United States – designated in 1790, founded in 1871.

Distance between capital and furthest region or colony

That is, the distance between the capital and the furthest territorial area that nevertheless falls under the country and/or capital.

  • Paris to New Caledonia, France. – 16.760 km.
  • London to Pitcairn Island, UK – 14.900 km.
  • Washington DC to Attu Island, US – 7.800.
  • Moscow, pictured above, to Kunashir Island, Russia. – 7.050 km.
Moscow | Capital of Russia

The largest capitals in the world (2022)

  • By area – Tokyo, Japan. – 37.393 square kilometers (figures from 2022)
  • By population – Tokyo, Japan – 39,1 million (figures from 2022)
  • By population density – Manila – Philippines – 1,78 million people in 43 square kilometers (figures from 2022)

De facto capitals of the world

De facto capitals designate cities where the government rules over the country. In The Netherlands we have the perfect example of that! The capital of the Netherlands is Amsterdam, but the government's heart is beating in The Hague.

Some countries have both an official capital and a de facto designated capital. France, Malta and Nauru have only de facto capitals, as their governments do not believe in giving one city a higher status than any other. The official capitals are shown in bold text and the actual capitals are shown in italics.

Kyoto | The de facto capital of Japan
Kyoto | The de facto capital of Japan
  • Yamoussoukro – Ivory Coast – Abidjan
  • Prague - Czech Republic - Brno
  • Basel - Switzerland - Bern
  • dodomo – Tanzania – Dar Es Salaam
  • Sugar – bolivia – La Paz
  • New Port – Benin – Cotonou
  • Amsterdam - The Netherlands - The Hague
  • Tokyo - Japan - Kyoto
  • Santiago - Chili - Valparaiso
  • South Africa: another exception! † Bloemfontein (judicial capital) – Kaapstad (legislative capital) – Pretoria (executive and recognized national capital)

Countries with cities bigger than their capitals

Not all capital cities around the world are necessarily the largest city of a province or country. Listed below are nineteen countries with one or more cities larger than their capital. The capital is shown in bold, the cities written in italics are larger than the capital.

Istanbul in Turkey is a lot bigger than the capital Ankara
Istanbul in Turkey is a lot bigger than the capital Ankara
  • Australia - Sydney –Melbourne– Perth – Adelaide–Brisbane - Canberra
  • Belize - Belize City – San Ignacio - Belmopan
  • Bolivia - Santa Cruz–El Alto–La Paz–Cochabamba - Sugar
  • Brazil – Sao Paulo–Rio de Janiero - Brasilia
  • Canada– Toronto - Ottawa
  • China - Shanghai - Beijing / Beijing
  • Ecuador - Guayaquil - Quito
  • India - Mumbai – Kolkata - Delhi.
  • Liechtenstein - Schaan - Vaduz
  • Malt - Birkirkara - Valletta
  • New Zealand - Auckland – Christchurch - Wellington
  • Pakistan – Karachi – Lahore – Faisalabad – Rawalpindi – Multan – Gujranwala – Hyderabad – Peshawar - Islamabad
  • San Marino - Dogana–Borgo Maggiore - San Marino City
  • Scotland - Glasgow - Edinburgh
  • South Africa - Johannesburg – Durban – Port Elizabeth – Cape Town – Polokwane – Nelspruit – Rustenburg - Pretoria
  • Switzerland - Zurich – Geneva – Basel - Bern
  • Turkey - Istanbul - Ankara
  • United Arab Emirates - Dubai - Abu Dhabi
  • USA – The capital of the United States – Washington DC – is the 25th largest city in the country! So too many to mention.

Capitals without water (lake, river or sea)

Most of the world's capitals were originally built near freshwater areas, such as a lake or river. Other capitals were built near salt water and a very rare number were built near no water supply at all, for example in a desert. Listed below are the twenty capitals in the world that were built in areas where there was no supply of water at all.

  • Abuja-Nigeria
  • Addis Ababa – Ethiopia
  • Ashghabat – Turkemenistan
  • Asmar-Eritrea
  • Baku – Azerbaijan
  • Brasilia – Brazil – The purpose-built capital of Brazil, it is not built on a freshwater area, although it is surrounded by the artificial Lake Paranoa.
  • Guatemala City – Guatemala
  • Islamabad–Pakistan
  • Lome–Togo
  • Ouagadougou–Burkino Faso
  • Riyadh – Saudi Arabia – Although originally built next to the Orchard Oasis – Riyadh Wadi – this water has long since dried up
  • San Jose–Costa Rica
  • San'a – Yemen
  • San Marino City – San Marino
  • San Salvador–El Salvador
  • Sofia – Bulgaria – The Vladaiska River, Perlovska River and Iskar River all run through the outskirts of the city.
  • Yamoussoukro – Ivory Coast
  • Yaounde – Cameroon
  • Windhoek – Namibia
Baku - Azerbaijan
Baku – Azerbaijan

Capitals with the most…

  • coldest – Ulan Bator, Mongolia – with an annual average temperature of 2,4 degrees Celsius (70 Fahrenheit).
  • hottest – Bangkok, Thailand, shown above, with an annual average temperature of 25 degrees Celsius (27,7 Fahrenheit).
  • wettest – Monrovia, Liberia – with 5.207 mm of rain per year.
  • driest – Lima, Peru – with only 2,29 mm of rain per year.
  • Mistiest – Canberra, Australia – with 47 fog days per year.
  • Highest (de facto capital) – La Paz, Bolivia – at 3650 meters above sea level.
  • Highest (official capital) – Quito, Ecuador – at 2800 meters above sea level.
  • Lowest – Baku – Azerbaijan, 28 meters below sea level.
  • Most remote / most remote – Wellington – New Zealand.
  • Most Northern – Reykyavik – Iceland.
  • The most polluted – Beijing, China – with 700 micrograms PM2,5 per cubic meter.
  • Southernmost – Wellington – New Zealand.
  • Closest to the Arctic Circle line – Reykjavik, Iceland, located at latitude 64 '08 degrees north.
  • Closest to the equator line – Quito, Ecuador – located at 00 '15' 00 degrees South.
  • Closest to the line of the Tropic of Cancer – Muscat, Oman, located at latitude 23 '36' 31 degrees north.
  • Closest to the Tropic of Capricorn line – Windhoek, Namibia, located at 22 '34' 12 degrees south.
  • Eldest – Damascus – Syria, continuously inhabited as the capital since the year 661.
  • Youngest – Juba – Republic of South Sudan, established in July 2011.
  • Furthest from the neighbor's capital – Wellington in New Zealand is furthest from its neighbor's capital – Wellington in New Zealand is 2.326 km from its nearest neighbor's capital, Canberra in Australia.
  • Closest to neighbor's capital Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is closest to its neighbor's capital and is only a mile from Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of Congo. The two cities face each other across the Congo River, Kinshasa on the south bank and Brazzaville on the north bank.
  • The windiest – Wellington – New Zealand, shown below – Experience regular wind speeds of about 16 knots (18 mph) and 173 days a year with wind speeds over 32 knots.

Conclusion

The most fascinating thing about the world's capitals is the diversity that exists between these cities around the world. We have collected in this article all the names of the capitals of the world. These world capitals or the country capitals also serve as the centers of the major economic, cultural, population or intellectual centers of the nation. The news media usually uses the name of capital cities as an alternative name for the country. For example, the relations between London and Washington symbolize the relationship between the UK and the US.

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0 comments

  • In the list of 'De facto capitals' of the world, you call Basel the official capital and Bern the de facto capital. That is not true. Bern is correctly mentioned as the official capital in your other lists.

  • You write in your article about capitals in the world that Copenhagen is not located on water, but the famous colored houses in Copenhagen are really on a harbor 😉 in addition, Copenhagen has a connection with both the East and North Sea.

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