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.
City/TownCountry/TerritoryNotes
Abidjan '
Yamoussoukro '
Abu Dhabi'
Abuja'Lagos was the capital from 1914 to 1991.
Accra'
AdamstownBritish Overseas Territory.
Addis Ababa'
Aden 'Sana'a has been occupied by Houthis rebels since February 2015. Aden is Yemen's acting capital. See also: Yemeni Civil War.
Sana'a 'Sana'a has been occupied by Houthis rebels since February 2015. Aden is Yemen's acting capital. See also: Yemeni Civil War.
Algiers'
AlofiSelf-governing in free association with New Zealand.
Amman'
Amsterdam 'The Dutch constitution refers to Amsterdam as the "capital". Also of the public bodies of: Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius.
The Hague 'The Dutch government is located in The Hague, which also hosts the monarch, government ministries, judiciary and diplomatic missions.
Andorra la Vella'
Ankara'
Antananarivo'
Apia'
Ashgabat'
Asmara'
Asunción'
Athens'
AvaruaSelf-governing in free association with New Zealand.
AzazSee Syrian Civil War.
Baghdad'
Baku'
Bamako'
Bandar Seri Begawan'
Bangkok'
Bangui'
Banjul'
Basseterre'
Beijing'See also: Historical capitals of China.
Beirut'
Belgrade'
Belmopan'Also of historical of.
Belize City'Also of historical of.
Berlin'
Bern 'Switzerland has no de jure capital.
Bishkek'
Bissau'
Bloemfontein '
Cape Town '
Pretoria '
Bogotá'
Brades Estate British Overseas Territory. Plymouth was abandoned after the eruption of the Soufriere Hills volcano in 1997. Government offices since then have been moved to Brades Estate, which is in the northwestern part of Montserrat.
Plymouth British Overseas Territory. Plymouth was abandoned after the eruption of the Soufriere Hills volcano in 1997. Government offices since then have been moved to Brades Estate, which is in the northwestern part of Montserrat.
Brasília'
Bratislava'
Brazzaville'
Bridgetown'
Brussels'Also the de facto capital of the.
Bucharest'
Budapest'
Buenos Aires'
Cairo'A new capital is being built at the New Administrative Capital. It will reportedly be named Wedian.
Canberra'Planned city built to overcome the rivalry between Melbourne and Sydney, which were both put forward as potential capitals for the nation 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'
Castries'
Cetinje '
Podgorica '
Charlotte AmalieTerritory of the United States.
Chișinău'
Cockburn TownBritish Overseas Territory.
Colombo 'Until the 1980s, the capital was Colombo, where many important governmental institutions still remain and which is still designated as the commercial capital of Sri Lanka.
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte 'Also known as "Kotte".
Conakry'
Copenhagen'
Cotonou '
Porto-Novo '
Dakar'
Damascus'
Dar es Salaam 'Dar es Salaam, the former capital and largest city continues to serve as the de facto seat of government hosting the presidency, government ministries, judiciary and diplomatic missions.
Dodoma '
Dhaka'
Dili'
Djibouti'
Doha'
DouglasBritish Crown Dependency.
Dublin'
Dushanbe'
Edinburgh of the Seven SeasPart of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
The Sahrawi Republic, recognised by 82 states, claims the mostly Moroccan controlled Western Sahara. Moroccan controlled territory includes El Aaiún, and Morocco claims all Sahrawi controlled territory. Tifariti is now the temporary capital of the SADR. Some government and military structures reside in exile in Tindouf, Algeria. See Politics of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
Tifariti The Sahrawi Republic, recognised by 82 states, claims the mostly Moroccan controlled Western Sahara. Moroccan controlled territory includes El Aaiún, and Morocco claims all Sahrawi controlled territory. Tifariti is now the temporary capital of the SADR. Some government and military structures reside in exile in Tindouf, Algeria. See Politics of the Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic.
Episkopi CantonmentBritish Overseas Territory.
Flying Fish CoveExternal territory of Australia.
Freetown'
Funafuti'
Gaborone'
George TownBritish Overseas Territory.
GeorgetownPart of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
Georgetown'
GibraltarBritish Overseas Territory.
Gitega 'Bujumbura was the capital from 1962 to 2018.
Bujumbura '
Guatemala City'
GustaviaOverseas collectivity of France.
HagåtñaTerritory of the United States.
HamiltonBritish Overseas Territory.
Hanga RoaSpecial territory of Chile.
Hanoi'
Harare'
HargeisaUnrecognized and self-declared state, de jure part of Somalia.
Havana'
Helsinki'
Honiara'
Islamabad'Karachi was selected as the first capital of Pakistan and served as such until the capital was shifted to Rawalpindi in 1958. Rawalpindi served as an interim capital for almost a decade until the construction in Islamabad was complete.
Jakarta'A new purpose-built city in Kalimantan is planned to replace Jakarta as the national capital from the mid 2020s.
JamestownPart of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha.
Jerusalem ' 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. Most countries currently maintain their embassies in and around Tel Aviv. The United States recognized Jerusalem as the capital and moved its embassy there in May 2018. Many countries officially adhere to the proposal that Jerusalem have international status, as called for in the 1947 Partition Plan. The State of Palestine, a de jure state, claims East Jerusalem as its capital. See Status of Jerusalem and Positions on Jerusalem.
Jerusalem ' 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. Most countries currently maintain their embassies in and around Tel Aviv. The United States recognized Jerusalem as the capital and moved its embassy there in May 2018. Many countries officially adhere to the proposal that Jerusalem have international status, as called for in the 1947 Partition Plan. The State of Palestine, a de jure state, claims East Jerusalem as its capital. See Status of Jerusalem and Positions on Jerusalem.
Ramallah '
Juba'
Kabul'
Kampala'
Kathmandu'
Khartoum'
Kiev'
Kigali'
King Edward PointBritish Overseas Territory.
Kingston'
KingstonExternal territory of Australia.
Kingstown'
Kinshasa'
Kuala Lumpur '
Putrajaya '
Kuwait City'
La Paz 'La Paz is the highest administrative capital in the world, higher than Quito.
Sucre '
Libreville'
Lilongwe'
Lima'Cusco is declared as the "Historical Capital", a merely symbolic statement, by Article 49 of the Peruvian Constitution.
Lisbon'
Ljubljana'
Lobamba '
Mbabane '
Lomé'
London'Prior to the Acts of Union in 1707, London was the capital of England only; Edinburgh was the capital of the Kingdom of Scotland.
Luanda'
Lusaka'
Luxembourg'
Madrid'
Majuro'Self-governing in free association with the United States.
Malabo'Ciudad de la Paz is currently under construction and will become the new capital when complete.
Malé'
Managua'
Manama'
Manila'
Maputo'
MarigotOverseas collectivity of France.
Maseru'
Mata-UtuOverseas collectivity of France.
Mexico City'
Minsk'
Mogadishu'
Monaco'The Principality of Monaco does not have an official 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.
Monrovia'
Montevideo'
Moroni'
Moscow'
Muscat'
Nairobi'
Nassau'
Naypyidaw'
N'Djamena'
New Delhi'Kolkata was the capital of India until 1911 during the British Raj.
Ngerulmud'Self-governing in free association with the United States.
Niamey'
Nicosia'
NicosiaDe facto independent state recognised only by Turkey. Claimed in whole by Cyprus.
Nouakchott'
Nouméa New CaledoniaOverseas territory of France.
Nukuʻalofa'
Nur-Sultan'Formerly known as Astana; the name was changed on 20 March 2019.
NuukSelf-governing country within the Kingdom of Denmark.
OranjestadSelf-governing country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Oslo'
Ottawa'
Ouagadougou'
Pago PagoTerritory of the United States.
Palikir'Self-governing in free association with the United States.
Panama City'
PapeeteOverseas collectivity of France.
Paramaribo'
Paris'
PhilipsburgSelf-governing country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Phnom Penh'
Port Louis'
Port Moresby'
Port Vila'
Port-au-Prince'
Port of Spain'
Prague'
Praia'
PristinaDe facto independent state that is recognised by UN member states and by Taiwan. Claimed in whole by the Republic of Serbia as part of its Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija. Republic of Kosovo has de facto control over most of the territory, with limited control in North Kosovo.
Pyongyang'
Quito'Highest official capital.
Rabat'
Reykjavík'
Riga'
Riyadh'
Road TownBritish Overseas Territory.
Rome'
Roseau'
SaipanTerritory of the United States.
San José'
San JuanTerritory of the United States.
San Marino'
San Salvador'
Santiago '
Valparaíso 'The National Congress of Chile is located in Valparaíso.
Santo Domingo'
São Tomé'
Sarajevo'
Seoul'
Singapore'City-state.
Skopje'
Sofia'
St. George's'
St. HelierBritish Crown Dependency.
St. John's'
St. Peter PortBritish Crown Dependency.
St. PierreOverseas collectivity of France.
StanleyBritish Overseas Territory.
StepanakertThe self-declared country remains diplomatically unrecognised by UN-member states, including Armenia. Transnistria, South Ossetia, and Abkhazia, all UN non-member states, recognise the state. Claimed in whole by Azerbaijan.
Stockholm'
SukhumiDe facto independent state recognised by Russia, Nauru, Nicaragua, Venezuela, South Ossetia and Transnistria. Claimed in whole by Republic of Georgia as the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia.
Suva'
TaipeiOfficially 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 its associated islands, Quemoy, Matsu, the Pratas, and part of the Spratly Islands. The territory of Taiwan is claimed in whole by the People's Republic of China. The Republic of China participates in the World Health Organization and a number of non-UN international organizations such as the World Trade Organization, International Olympic Committee and others under a variety of pseudonyms, most commonly Chinese Taipei.
Tallinn'
Tarawa'
Tashkent'
Tbilisi'
Tegucigalpa'
Tehran'
Thimphu'
Tirana'
TiraspolDe facto independent state, not recognized by any UN-member, but by Abkhazia and South Ossetia. Claimed in whole by the Republic of Moldova as the Territorial Unit of Transnistria.
Tokyo'
TórshavnSelf-governing country within the Kingdom of Denmark.
Tripoli'
TskhinvaliDe facto independent state recognised by Russia, Nicaragua, Nauru, Venezuela, Abkhazia and Transnistria. Claimed in whole by the Republic of Georgia as the Provisional Administrative Entity of South Ossetia.
Tunis'
Ulaanbaatar'
Vaduz'
Valletta'
The ValleyBritish Overseas Territory.
Vatican City'City-state.
Victoria'
Vienna'
Vientiane'
Vilnius'
Warsaw'
Washington, D.C.'
Wellington'See also: Capital of New Zealand.
West IslandExternal territory of Australia.
WillemstadSelf-governing country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
Windhoek'
Yaoundé'
Yaren 'Country does not have an official capital; however, the government offices are in Yaren.
Yerevan'
Zagreb