Knowing the capitals of countries around the world is one of those things that comes in handy more often than you expect. Whether you are preparing for a school exam, a competitive test, a quiz, or just trying to satisfy your own curiosity, having a solid grip on world capitals is genuinely useful.
There are 195 countries in the world today, and each one has a capital city. Some of these capitals are the largest cities in their country. Some are not. Some countries have more than one capital city. A few capitals were changed in recent years for political or administrative reasons.
This article covers world capitals region by region so the information is easier to absorb and remember. At the end, there is also a section on countries with more than one capital, along with frequently asked questions that students often search for.
List of World Capitals in Asia
Asia is the largest continent in the world and home to some of the most well known and some of the most surprising capital cities. Here is a country wise list of capitals across the Asian continent.
Afghanistan: Kabul. Bangladesh: Dhaka. Bhutan: Thimphu. Brunei: Bandar Seri Begawan. Cambodia: Phnom Penh. China: Beijing. India: New Delhi. Indonesia: Jakarta (the government is in the process of moving the capital to Nusantara). Iran: Tehran. Iraq: Baghdad. Japan: Tokyo. Jordan: Amman. Kazakhstan: Astana. Kuwait: Kuwait City. Kyrgyzstan: Bishkek. Laos: Vientiane. Lebanon: Beirut. Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur. Maldives: Malé. Mongolia: Ulaanbaatar. Myanmar: Naypyidaw. Nepal: Kathmandu. North Korea: Pyongyang. Oman: Muscat. Pakistan: Islamabad. Philippines: Manila. Qatar: Doha. Saudi Arabia: Riyadh. Singapore: Singapore City. South Korea: Seoul. Sri Lanka: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte. Syria: Damascus. Tajikistan: Dushanbe. Thailand: Bangkok. Timor-Leste: Dili. Turkmenistan: Ashgabat. UAE: Abu Dhabi. Uzbekistan: Tashkent. Vietnam: Hanoi. Yemen: Sanaa.
A few things worth noting here. India’s capital is New Delhi, which is a district within the larger city of Delhi. Pakistan moved its capital from Karachi to Islamabad in 1967. Myanmar moved its capital from Yangon to Naypyidaw in 2006. Indonesia is currently building a brand new capital city called Nusantara on the island of Borneo, moving away from the overcrowded Jakarta.
List of World Capitals in Europe
Europe is a continent packed with history, and many of its capital cities have been political and cultural centers for hundreds of years. Here is the full list of European countries and their capitals.
Albania: Tirana. Andorra: Andorra la Vella. Austria: Vienna. Belarus: Minsk. Belgium: Brussels. Bosnia and Herzegovina: Sarajevo. Bulgaria: Sofia. Croatia: Zagreb. Cyprus: Nicosia. Czech Republic: Prague. Denmark: Copenhagen. Estonia: Tallinn. Finland: Helsinki. France: Paris. Germany: Berlin. Greece: Athens. Hungary: Budapest. Iceland: Reykjavik. Ireland: Dublin. Italy: Rome. Kosovo: Pristina. Latvia: Riga. Liechtenstein: Vaduz. Lithuania: Vilnius. Luxembourg: Luxembourg City. Malta: Valletta. Moldova: Chișinău. Monaco: Monaco. Montenegro: Podgorica. Netherlands: Amsterdam. North Macedonia: Skopje. Norway: Oslo. Poland: Warsaw. Portugal: Lisbon. Romania: Bucharest. Russia: Moscow. San Marino: San Marino. Serbia: Belgrade. Slovakia: Bratislava. Slovenia: Ljubljana. Spain: Madrid. Sweden: Stockholm. Switzerland: Bern. Turkey: Ankara. Ukraine: Kyiv. United Kingdom: London. Vatican City: Vatican City.
A few things to keep in mind here. Turkey has Ankara as its capital, not Istanbul, which is the largest city. Switzerland has Bern as its capital, not Zurich or Geneva. The Netherlands has Amsterdam as its official capital, but the government and parliament are located in The Hague. Vatican City is both a country and a capital at the same time.
List of World Capitals in Africa
Africa has 54 recognized countries, making it the continent with the most nations in the world. Here is a region by region breakdown of African capitals.
Algeria: Algiers. Angola: Luanda. Benin: Porto-Novo. Botswana: Gaborone. Burkina Faso: Ouagadougou. Burundi: Gitega. Cameroon: Yaoundé. Cape Verde: Praia. Central African Republic: Bangui. Chad: N’Djamena. Comoros: Moroni. DR Congo: Kinshasa. Republic of Congo: Brazzaville. Djibouti: Djibouti. Egypt: Cairo. Equatorial Guinea: Malabo. Eritrea: Asmara. Eswatini: Mbabane. Ethiopia: Addis Ababa. Gabon: Libreville. Gambia: Banjul. Ghana: Accra. Guinea: Conakry. Guinea-Bissau: Bissau. Ivory Coast: Yamoussoukro. Kenya: Nairobi. Lesotho: Maseru. Liberia: Monrovia. Libya: Tripoli. Madagascar: Antananarivo. Malawi: Lilongwe. Mali: Bamako. Mauritania: Nouakchott. Mauritius: Port Louis. Morocco: Rabat. Mozambique: Maputo. Namibia: Windhoek. Niger: Niamey. Nigeria: Abuja. Rwanda: Kigali. São Tomé and Príncipe: São Tomé. Senegal: Dakar. Seychelles: Victoria. Sierra Leone: Freetown. Somalia: Mogadishu. South Africa: Pretoria. South Sudan: Juba. Sudan: Khartoum. Tanzania: Dodoma. Togo: Lomé. Tunisia: Tunis. Uganda: Kampala. Zambia: Lusaka. Zimbabwe: Harare.
Nigeria moved its capital from Lagos to Abuja in 1991. Tanzania’s official capital is Dodoma, though Dar es Salaam remains the largest city and commercial center. Ivory Coast officially recognizes Yamoussoukro as the capital, but the seat of government functions from Abidjan.
List of World Capitals in North and Central America
North and Central America together include the United States, Canada, Mexico, and a number of smaller nations in Central America and the Caribbean. Here is the full list.
Antigua and Barbuda: Saint John’s. Bahamas: Nassau. Barbados: Bridgetown. Belize: Belmopan. Canada: Ottawa. Costa Rica: San José. Cuba: Havana. Dominica: Roseau. Dominican Republic: Santo Domingo. El Salvador: San Salvador. Grenada: St. George’s. Guatemala: Guatemala City. Haiti: Port-au-Prince. Honduras: Tegucigalpa. Jamaica: Kingston. Mexico: Mexico City. Nicaragua: Managua. Panama: Panama City. Saint Kitts and Nevis: Basseterre. Saint Lucia: Castries. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Kingstown. Trinidad and Tobago: Port of Spain. United States of America: Washington D.C.
A few interesting things here. The United States capital is Washington D.C., not New York City, which is the largest and most internationally recognized American city. Canada’s capital is Ottawa, not Toronto or Vancouver, which tend to be better known internationally. Belize moved its capital from Belize City to Belmopan in 1970 after a devastating hurricane.
List of World Capitals in South America
South America has 12 countries, each with its own capital. Some of these capitals are among the highest altitude cities in the world.
Argentina: Buenos Aires. Bolivia: Sucre (constitutional capital) and La Paz (seat of government). Brazil: Brasília. Chile: Santiago. Colombia: Bogotá. Ecuador: Quito. Guyana: Georgetown. Paraguay: Asunción. Peru: Lima. Suriname: Paramaribo. Uruguay: Montevideo. Venezuela: Caracas.
Brazil built its capital Brasília from scratch in the late 1950s and officially made it the capital in 1960, replacing Rio de Janeiro. The city was planned and designed to be a modern administrative center. Bolivia is one of the rare countries with two capitals, which is explained in more detail in the next section. Colombia’s capital Bogotá sits at an elevation of about 2,600 meters above sea level, making it one of the highest capital cities in the world.
List of World Capitals in Oceania
Oceania includes Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and a group of smaller island nations spread across the Pacific Ocean. Here is the complete list.
Australia: Canberra. Fiji: Suva. Kiribati: South Tarawa. Marshall Islands: Majuro. Micronesia: Palikir. Nauru: Yaren (Nauru has no official capital, but Yaren is the largest district and home to the government). New Zealand: Wellington. Palau: Ngerulmud. Papua New Guinea: Port Moresby. Samoa: Apia. Solomon Islands: Honiara. Tonga: Nuku’alofa. Tuvalu: Funafuti. Vanuatu: Port Vila.
Australia is a common source of confusion here. Many people assume Sydney is the capital because it is the largest and most famous Australian city. The actual capital is Canberra, which was built specifically to serve as the capital after Sydney and Melbourne could not agree on which city should hold the status. New Zealand’s capital is Wellington, not Auckland. Wellington sits at the southern tip of the North Island and has been the capital since 1865.
Countries with Two or More Capital Cities
Most people assume every country has one capital. That is mostly true, but there are several countries around the world where the capital functions are split across two or even three cities. This usually happens for historical, political, or geographic reasons.
South Africa has three capitals. Pretoria is the executive capital where the president’s office and government departments are based. Cape Town is the legislative capital where the Parliament meets. Bloemfontein is the judicial capital where the Supreme Court of Appeal is located.
Bolivia has two capitals. Sucre is the constitutional capital recognized in the country’s constitution. La Paz is the seat of government where the president and most government functions are based.
The Netherlands has Amsterdam as its official capital, but the seat of parliament and most government ministries are located in The Hague. Most international organizations and embassies operating in the Netherlands are also based in The Hague.
Malaysia has Kuala Lumpur as its official capital and largest city. However, the federal administrative capital was moved to Putrajaya in the late 1990s, where most government ministries and the Prime Minister’s office are now located.
Sri Lanka recognizes Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte as its legislative capital, while Colombo functions as the commercial capital and is where most offices and activity are concentrated.
Ivory Coast officially has Yamoussoukro as its capital, declared so in 1983, but the government and most institutions continue to operate from Abidjan.
These examples show that the question of what a capital city really means can be more layered than it first appears.
Why World Capitals Are Important to Know
World capitals show up in a surprising number of places in everyday life. In school, questions about capitals appear in geography, civics, and general knowledge subjects. In competitive exams like UPSC, SSC, banking tests, and state government exams in India, capital city questions are tested regularly. In quiz competitions and general knowledge rounds, capitals of smaller or less known countries are especially popular.
Beyond exams, knowing world capitals helps you make sense of the news. When you hear that talks are being held in Riyadh or that there is unrest in Caracas or that a summit is happening in Nairobi, you immediately know which country and which region of the world is being discussed. That context makes the news more meaningful and easier to follow.
Capitals also matter when traveling or planning travel. Knowing that the capital of Australia is Canberra and not Sydney, or that the capital of Brazil is Brasília and not Rio de Janeiro, helps avoid the common confusion that many travelers experience.
For students who enjoy geography, memorizing world capitals is also a satisfying challenge. It builds a mental map of the world and sharpens your ability to place countries, continents, and regions in relation to each other.
One good technique is to learn capitals by continent rather than trying to memorize all 195 at once. Tackling one region at a time, reviewing it, and then moving to the next makes the task much more manageable. Using maps, flashcards, or geography quizzes online can also speed up the process.
FAQs
Q1. What is the capital of Australia?
The capital of Australia is Canberra. It is a common misconception that Sydney is the capital because it is the largest and most internationally known city. Canberra was purpose-built as the capital after Sydney and Melbourne could not settle the dispute.
Q2. What is the capital of Canada?
The capital of Canada is Ottawa. It is located in the province of Ontario. Ottawa was chosen as the capital by Queen Victoria in 1857. Toronto and Vancouver are larger cities but neither is the capital.
Q3. Which country has three capitals?
South Africa is the most notable example of a country with three capitals. Pretoria is the executive capital, Cape Town is the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital.
Q4. What is the capital of Brazil?
The capital of Brazil is Brasília. Many people incorrectly think it is Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo because those cities are larger and more globally recognized. Brasília became the capital in 1960 after being built from the ground up as a planned city.
Q5. What is the capital of the United States?
The capital of the United States is Washington D.C. The letters D.C. stand for District of Columbia. New York City is the largest city in the country and hosts the United Nations headquarters, but it is not the capital.
Q6. Which is the smallest capital city in the world?
Ngerulmud, the capital of Palau, is often considered the smallest capital city in the world by population. It has only a few hundred permanent residents. Some sources also point to Vatican City, which is both a city and a country.
Q7. Which country recently changed its capital?
Indonesia is in the process of moving its capital from Jakarta to a new city called Nusantara, located on the island of Borneo. The move is driven by environmental concerns, overcrowding, and the sinking of Jakarta. Myanmar moved its capital from Yangon to Naypyidaw in 2006.
Q8. What is the highest capital city in the world?
La Paz in Bolivia is often cited as the highest capital city in the world in terms of where the seat of government is located, sitting at around 3,600 meters above sea level. Sucre, the constitutional capital of Bolivia, sits at about 2,800 meters. Quito, the capital of Ecuador, is also among the highest at about 2,850 meters.
Q9. Is the capital always the largest city in a country?
No, and this is one of the most commonly misunderstood things about world capitals. Many countries have a capital that is smaller than their largest or most well known city. Examples include Australia, Brazil, Canada, United States, India, Pakistan, and many others.
Q10. How many countries are there in the world?
There are 195 countries recognized in the world today. This includes 193 member states of the United Nations along with 2 non-member observer states, which are Vatican City and Palestine.
