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All capitals in the world

Capitals are more than mere geographical locations; they are the political, cultural, and economic hearts of their countries. These cities reflect the history, identity, and ambitions of a nation. From ancient metropolises to modern megacities, each capital has its unique story to tell.

Capital cities in Europe

This table displays every European capital along with its corresponding country and population.

CountryCapital CityPopulation
ÅlandMariehamn11,750
AlbaniaTirana418,495
AndorraAndorra la Vella22,886
AustriaVienna1,990,487
BelarusMinsk2,018,281
BelgiumBrussels1,175,173
Bosnia and HerzegovinaSarajevo275,524
BulgariaSofia1,221,785
CroatiaZagreb790,017
CzechiaPrague1,301,432
DenmarkCopenhagen638,790
EstoniaTallinn437,817
Faroe IslandsTórshavn13,888
FinlandHelsinki656,920
FranceParis2,206,488
GermanyBerlin3,664,088
GibraltarGibraltar34,003
GreeceAthens664,046
GuernseySaint Peter Port19,354
HungaryBudapest1,737,026
IcelandReykjavík129,964
IrelandDublin544,107
Isle of ManDouglas27,938
ItalyRome2,759,629
JerseySaint Helier35,822
KosovoPristina211,129
LatviaRiga5,774
LiechtensteinVaduz5,774
LithuaniaVilnius546,155
LuxembourgLuxembourg128,494
MaltaValletta5,876
MoldovaChisinau339,079
MonacoMonaco31,109
MontenegroPodgorica185,937
NetherlandsAmsterdam872,680
North MacedoniaSkopje546,824
NorwayOslo681,067
PolandWarsaw1,793,579
PortugalLisbon505,526
RomaniaBucharest1,823,526
RussiaMoscow12,506,468
San MarinoSan Marino4,127
SerbiaBelgrade1,387,422
SlovakiaBratislava435,296
SloveniaLjubljana285,604
SpainMadrid3,320,069
SvalbardLongyearbyen2,144
SwedenStockholm935,619
SwitzerlandBern134,290
UkraineKyiv2,962,180
United KingdomLondon8,961,989
VaticanVatican City453

Capital cities in the Americas

CountryCapital CityPopulation
AnguillaThe Valley2,812
Antigua and BarbudaSaint John’s81,799
ArgentinaBuenos Aires2,891,082
ArubaOranjestad34,980
BahamasNassau266,100
BarbadosBridgetown110,000
BelizeBelmopan13,939
BermudaHamilton854
BoliviaSucre300,000
BrazilBrasilia2,912,090
British Virgin IslandsRoad Town12,603
CanadaOttawa1,071,868
Cayman IslandsGeorge Town34,921
ChileSantiago536,089
ColombiaBogota7,181,469
Costa RicaSan José354,025
CubaHavana2,137,847
CuracaoWillemstad150,000
DominicaRoseau16,582
EcuadorQuito2,011,388
El SalvadorSan Salvador200,319
Falkland IslandsStanley2,460
French GuianaCayenne57,614
GreenlandNuuk18,128
GrenadaSaint George’s33,734
GuadeloupeBasse-Terre10,046
GuatemalaGuatemala City923,392
GuyanaGeorgetown24,849
HaitiPort-au-Prince987,310
HondurasTegucigalpa996,658
JamaicaKingston584,627
MartiniqueFort-de-France82,502
MexicoMexico City9,209,944
MontserratBrades449
NicaraguaManagua1,033,622
PanamaPanama City505,627
ParaguayAsunción525,252
PeruLima9,751,717
Puerto RicoSan Juan337,300
Saint BarthelemyGustavia2,300
Saint Kitts and NevisBasseterre14,000
Saint LuciaCastries3,661
Saint Pierre and MiquelonSaint-Pierre5,415
Sint MaartenPhilipsburg1,327
South GeorgiaKing Edward Point18
St. MartinMarigot5,700
SurinameParamaribo240,924
Trinidad and TobagoPort-of-Spain37,074
United StatesWashington, D.C.671,803
UruguayMontevideo1,384,210
VenezuelaCaracas2,245,744
Virgin IslandsCharlotte Amalie10,354

Capital cities in Asia

This list shows all the capitals of Europe with country and population.

CountryCapital CityPopulation
AfghanistanKabul4,601,789
ArmeniaYerevan1,087,886
AzerbaijanBaku2,330,425
BahrainManama157,474
BangladeshDhaka8,906,035
BhutanThimphu114,551
BruneiBandar Seri Begawan50,000
CambodiaPhnom Penh2,281,951
ChinaBeijing21,893,095
CyprusNicosia116,392
East TimorDili222,323
GeorgiaTbilisi1,154,314
Hong KongHong Kong7,346,100
IndiaNew Delhi33,807,000
IndonesiaJakarta10,562,088
IranTehran8,846,782
IraqBaghdad8,126,755
IsraelJerusalem958,679
JapanTokyo37,115,035
JordanAmman4,007,526
KazakhstanNursultan1,354,507
KuwaitKuwait City2,989,000
KyrgyzstanBishkek1,071,261
LaosVientiane783,000
LebanonBeirut361,366
MacaoConcelho de Macau677,300
MalaysiaKuala Lumpur1,982,112
MaldivesMalé240,984
MongoliaUlaanbaatar1,665,469
MyanmarNay Pyi Taw1,160,242
NepalKathmandu975,453
North KoreaPyongyang3,222,000
OmanMuscat31,409
PakistanIslamabad1,009,003
PalestineRamallah27,092
PhilippinesManila1,846,513
QatarDoha1,186,023
Saudi ArabiaRiyadh7,676,654
SingaporeSingapore5,637,022
South KoreaSeoul9,617,795
Sri LankaColombo752,993
SyriaDamascus2,354,000
TaiwanTaipei2,646,204
TajikistanDushanbe770,027
ThailandBangkok11,234,000
TurkeyAnkara5,663,322
TurkmenistanAshgabat1,031,992
United Arab EmiratesAbu Dhabi1,482,816
UzbekistanTashkent2,862,420
VietnamHanoi4,678,198
YemenSanaa2,545,000

Capital cities in Africa

CountryCapital CityPopulation
AlgeriaAlgiers2,712,944
AngolaLuanda2,571,861
BeninPorto-Novo264,320
BotswanaGaborone246,323
Burkina FasoOuagadougou2,415,266
BurundiBujumbura497,169
CameroonYaounde2,765,600
Cape VerdePraia130,271
Central AfricaBangui889,231
ChadN’Djamena1,092,066
ComorosMoroni54,000
CongoBrazzaville2,308,000
Congo (Dem. Republic)Kinshasa14,970,000
DjiboutiDjibouti475,322
EgyptCairo9,539,673
Equatorial GuineaMalabo315,665
EritreaAsmara963,000
EswatiniMbabane60,691
EthiopiaAddis Ababa2,739,551
GabonLibreville703,904
GambiaBanjul31,301
GhanaAccra1,594,419
GuineaConakry1,659,785
Guinea-BissauBissau387,909
Ivory CoastYamoussoukro279,977
KenyaNairobi4,397,073
LesothoMaseru330,760
LiberiaMonrovia1,010,970
LibyaTripoli1,126,000
MadagascarAntananarivo1,275,207
MalawiLilongwe989,318
MaliBamako1,810,366
MauritaniaNouakchott958,399
MauritiusPort Louis143,574
MayotteMamoudzou57,281
MoroccoRabat573,895
MozambiqueMaputo1,080,277
NamibiaWindhoek429,974
NigerNiamey1,026,848
NigeriaAbuja2,750,000
ReunionSaint-Denis146,985
RwandaKigali859,332
Saint HelenaJamestown657
Sao Tome and PrincipeSão Tomé56,945
SenegalDakar1,146,053
SeychellesVictoria26,450
Sierra LeoneFreetown1,055,964
SomaliaMogadishu2,388,000
South AfricaPretoria741,651
South SudanJuba230,195
SudanKhartoum639,598
TanzaniaDodoma2,083,588
TogoLomé839,566
TunisiaTunis1,056,247
UgandaKampala1,507,114
Western SaharaEl Aaiún196,331
ZambiaLusaka1,747,152
ZimbabweHarare1,698,122

Capitals of Oceania

CountryCapital CityPopulation
American SamoaPago Pago2,934
AustraliaCanberra477,567
Christmas IslandFlying Fish Cove1,600
Cocos IslandsWest Island134
Cook IslandsAvarua4,906
FijiSuva100,237
French PolynesiaPapeete26,925
GuamHagåtña1,051
KiribatiTarawa69,710
Marshall IslandsMajuro27,797
NauruYaren747
New CaledoniaNouméa94,285
New ZealandWellington424,441
NiueAlofi578
Norfolk IslandKingston880
Northern MarianasSaipan48,220
Papua New GuineaPort Moresby420,419
Pitcairn IslandsAdamstown50
SamoaApia38,465
Solomon IslandsHoniara111,987
TongaNuku‘alofa21,695
TuvaluFunafuti7,804
VanuatuPort-Vila61,424
Wallis and FutunaMata-Utu1,126

What is a capital city?

A capital city is the municipality exercising primary status in a country, state, province, or other administrative region, usually as its seat of government. A capital is typically a city where the government’s central offices and officials reside, including the head of state, government leaders, and administrative offices. It is the political, cultural, and often economic center of the country or region it serves.

Capitals are chosen for various reasons, including historical, geographical, political, and strategic considerations. Some capitals, like Rome, have ancient origins and have served as the center of power for centuries. Others, such as Brasília in Brazil, were planned and built specifically to serve as a capital, often with the intention of bringing development to less populated or developed areas or to have a neutral location not favoring any existing region.

In addition to being administrative hubs, capital cities often reflect the identity and heritage of a nation. They are usually home to important cultural institutions, such as museums, theaters, and libraries, as well as significant architectural landmarks. Capitals also frequently host foreign embassies and consulates, international organizations, and are the location for state ceremonies and events of national significance.

Criteria for Choosing a Capital

The selection of a capital is not random. Historical significance often plays a role; many capitals were once centers of ancient civilizations. Geographical location is also crucial, with a central position often preferred to facilitate administration. Political stability and economic development are other key factors that qualify a city to be a capital.

A Journey Through the Capitals of the World

Africa, the continent with the greatest diversity, hosts capitals like Cairo, a city that has witnessed great civilizations, and Cape Town, known for its breathtaking landscape. In the Americas, Washington D.C. stands as a symbol of political power, while Brasília, designed from scratch, represents modernist visions. Asia offers a contrast of capitals, from the ancient city of Damascus to the bustling metropolis of Tokyo. Europe‘s capitals, such as Athens and Rome, are steeped in history, while newer cities like Berlin and Paris blend historical significance with modern vibrancy. Oceania presents a mix of capitals from the well-planned Canberra to the remote but culturally rich Suva in Fiji.

Unique Features of Some Capitals

The oldest and newest capitals offer fascinating insights into human civilization and urban development. Capitals with unique geographical features, such as La Paz, the highest capital in the world, or Venice, with its waterways, highlight the adaptability of human settlements. Politically disputed capitals, like Jerusalem, underscore the complex relationship between politics and geography.

Role of Capitals in International Politics

Capitals are often the seat of international organizations and the venues for significant global conferences and summits. These cities are not just national symbols but also players on the international stage, facilitating diplomatic relations and global governance.

Challenges and Future Perspectives

Urbanization and overpopulation pose significant challenges to capitals, necessitating sustainable development initiatives. Environmental issues demand green policies, while political tensions can impact the stability and image of these cities.

Capitals around the world serve as the epicenters of political, cultural, and economic activity. They are a testament to human civilization’s diversity, resilience, and creativity. As we look to the future, these cities will continue to evolve, facing new challenges and embracing opportunities, reflecting the ever-changing landscape of human society.

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