List of Capital Cities of the World

Countries with more than one capital

A few countries divide the work of government between cities. Each city is then a capital for one purpose.

South Africa has three. Pretoria holds the executive. Cape Town holds the legislature. Bloemfontein holds the judiciary.

Bolivia has two. Sucre is the constitutional capital. La Paz holds the government.

The quiz accepts the city listed in the table. It also accepts the alternatives shown beside it.

Capitals that changed name

A capital sometimes changes name when a government changes. Both names stay in use for years afterwards.

Kazakhstan renamed Astana to Nur-Sultan in 2019. It changed the name back to Astana in 2022.

Myanmar moved its capital from Yangon to Naypyidaw in 2005. Many maps still show the older city.

The table lists the current name first. The quiz also accepts the former name.

Capitals that are not the largest city

A capital is the seat of government. It is not always the largest city.

Washington is the capital of the United States. New York is larger. Canberra is the capital of Australia. Sydney is larger.

Brasília, Abuja and Naypyidaw were all built to be capitals. Each replaced a larger coastal city.

Every country and its capital city

Play a quiz on this