World Capital Cities

There are 246 capital cities in the world, serving as the political and administrative centers of their respective countries and territories. From ancient seats of power to purpose-built modern capitals, these cities represent the heart of governance for nations spanning every continent.

Capital cities serve as the seat of government for their respective countries. Some countries like South Africa have multiple capitals for different branches of government. The countries with capitals listed below have a combined population of 8.02 billion people.

Capitals are distributed across 6 world regions, with Africa having the most (59 capitals). While many capitals are also the largest city in their country, some nations have chosen smaller, purpose-built cities as their administrative centers, such as Brazil's Brasilia, Myanmar's Naypyidaw, or Nigeria's Abuja.

Largest Countries by Population and Their Capitals

The 10 most populous countries and their capital cities

1IndiaNew Delhi1.42B2ChinaBeijing1.41B3United StatesWashington, D.C.340.1M4IndonesiaJakarta284.4M5PakistanIslamabad241.5M6NigeriaAbuja223.8M7BrazilBrasília213.4M8BangladeshDhaka169.8M9RussiaMoscow146.0M10MexicoMexico City130.6M

Africa(59 countries)

Country	Capital	Population	Subregion
Algeria	Algiers	47,400,000	Northern Africa
Angola	Luanda	36,170,961	Middle Africa
Benin	Porto-Novo	13,224,860	Western Africa
Botswana	Gaborone	2,359,609	Southern Africa
British Indian Ocean Territory	Diego Garcia	0	Eastern Africa
Burkina Faso	Ouagadougou	24,070,553	Western Africa
Burundi	Gitega	12,332,788	Eastern Africa
Cameroon	Yaoundé	29,442,327	Middle Africa
Cape Verde	Praia	491,233	Western Africa
Central African Republic	Bangui	6,470,307	Middle Africa
Chad	N'Djamena	19,340,757	Middle Africa
Comoros	Moroni	919,901	Eastern Africa
Djibouti	Djibouti	1,066,809	Eastern Africa
DR Congo	Kinshasa	112,832,000	Middle Africa
Egypt	Cairo	107,271,260	Northern Africa
Equatorial Guinea	Ciudad de la Paz	1,668,768	Middle Africa
Eritrea	Asmara	3,607,000	Eastern Africa
Eswatini	Mbabane	1,235,549	Southern Africa
Ethiopia	Addis Ababa	111,652,998	Eastern Africa
Gabon	Libreville	2,469,296	Middle Africa
Gambia	Banjul	2,422,712	Western Africa
Ghana	Accra	33,742,380	Western Africa
Guinea	Conakry	14,363,931	Western Africa
Guinea-Bissau	Bissau	1,781,308	Western Africa
Ivory Coast	Yamoussoukro	31,719,275	Western Africa
Kenya	Nairobi	53,330,978	Eastern Africa
Lesotho	Maseru	2,116,427	Southern Africa
Liberia	Monrovia	5,248,621	Western Africa
Libya	Tripoli	7,459,000	Northern Africa
Madagascar	Antananarivo	31,727,042	Eastern Africa
Malawi	Lilongwe	20,734,262	Eastern Africa
Mali	Bamako	22,395,489	Western Africa
Mauritania	Nouakchott	4,927,532	Western Africa
Mauritius	Port Louis	1,243,741	Eastern Africa
Mayotte	Mamoudzou	320,901	Eastern Africa
Morocco	Rabat	36,828,330	Northern Africa
Mozambique	Maputo	34,090,466	Eastern Africa
Namibia	Windhoek	3,022,401	Southern Africa
Niger	Niamey	26,312,034	Western Africa
Nigeria	Abuja	223,800,000	Western Africa
Republic of the Congo	Brazzaville	6,142,180	Middle Africa
Réunion	Saint-Denis	896,175	Eastern Africa
Rwanda	Kigali	14,104,969	Eastern Africa
Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha	Jamestown	5,651	Western Africa
São Tomé and Príncipe	São Tomé	209,607	Middle Africa
Senegal	Dakar	18,593,258	Western Africa
Seychelles	Victoria	122,729	Eastern Africa
Sierra Leone	Freetown	9,077,691	Western Africa
Somalia	Mogadishu	19,655,000	Eastern Africa
South Africa	Pretoria	63,100,945	Southern Africa
South Sudan	Juba	15,786,898	Middle Africa
Sudan	Khartoum	51,662,000	Northern Africa
Tanzania	Dodoma	68,153,004	Eastern Africa
Togo	Lomé	8,095,498	Western Africa
Tunisia	Tunis	11,972,169	Northern Africa
Uganda	Kampala	45,905,417	Eastern Africa
Western Sahara	El Aaiún	600,904	Northern Africa
Zambia	Lusaka	19,693,423	Eastern Africa
Zimbabwe	Harare	17,073,087	Southern Africa

Americas(56 countries)

Country	Capital	Population	Subregion
Anguilla	The Valley	16,010	Caribbean
Antigua and Barbuda	Saint John's	103,603	Caribbean
Argentina	Buenos Aires	46,735,004	South America
Aruba	Oranjestad	107,566	Caribbean
Bahamas	Nassau	398,165	Caribbean
Barbados	Bridgetown	267,800	Caribbean
Belize	Belmopan	417,634	Central America
Bermuda	Hamilton	64,055	North America
Bolivia	Sucre	11,365,333	South America
Brazil	Brasília	213,421,037	South America
British Virgin Islands	Road Town	39,471	Caribbean
Canada	Ottawa	41,651,653	North America
Caribbean Netherlands	Kralendijk	31,980	Caribbean
Cayman Islands	George Town	84,738	Caribbean
Chile	Santiago	20,206,953	South America
Colombia	Bogotá	53,057,212	South America
Costa Rica	San José	5,309,625	Central America
Cuba	Havana	9,748,007	Caribbean
Curaçao	Willemstad	156,115	Caribbean
Dominica	Roseau	67,408	Caribbean
Dominican Republic	Santo Domingo	10,771,504	Caribbean
Ecuador	Quito	18,103,660	South America
El Salvador	San Salvador	6,029,976	Central America
Falkland Islands	Stanley	3,662	South America
French Guiana	Cayenne	292,354	South America
Greenland	Nuuk	56,542	North America
Grenada	St. George's	109,021	Caribbean
Guadeloupe	Basse-Terre	378,561	Caribbean
Guatemala	Guatemala City	18,079,810	Central America
Guyana	Georgetown	772,975	South America
Haiti	Port-au-Prince	11,867,032	Caribbean
Honduras	Tegucigalpa	9,892,632	Central America
Jamaica	Kingston	2,825,544	Caribbean
Martinique	Fort-de-France	349,925	Caribbean
Mexico	Mexico City	130,575,786	North America
Montserrat	Plymouth	4,386	Caribbean
Nicaragua	Managua	6,803,886	Central America
Panama	Panama City	4,064,780	Central America
Paraguay	Asunción	6,109,644	South America
Peru	Lima	34,350,244	South America
Puerto Rico	San Juan	3,203,295	Caribbean
Saint Barthélemy	Gustavia	10,562	Caribbean
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Basseterre	51,320	Caribbean
Saint Lucia	Castries	184,100	Caribbean
Saint Martin	Marigot	31,496	Caribbean
Saint Pierre and Miquelon	Saint-Pierre	5,819	North America
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Kingstown	110,872	Caribbean
Sint Maarten	Philipsburg	41,349	Caribbean
Suriname	Paramaribo	616,500	South America
Trinidad and Tobago	Port of Spain	1,367,764	Caribbean
Turks and Caicos Islands	Cockburn Town	50,828	Caribbean
United States	Washington, D.C.	340,110,988	North America
United States Minor Outlying Islands	Washington DC	0	North America
United States Virgin Islands	Charlotte Amalie	87,146	Caribbean
Uruguay	Montevideo	3,499,451	South America
Venezuela	Caracas	28,517,000	South America

Europe(53 countries)

Country	Capital	Population	Subregion
Åland Islands	Mariehamn	30,654	Northern Europe
Albania	Tirana	2,363,314	Southeast Europe
Andorra	Andorra la Vella	88,406	Southern Europe
Austria	Vienna	9,200,931	Central Europe
Belarus	Minsk	9,109,280	Eastern Europe
Belgium	Brussels	11,825,551	Western Europe
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Sarajevo	3,422,000	Southeast Europe
Bulgaria	Sofia	6,437,360	Southeast Europe
Croatia	Zagreb	3,866,233	Southeast Europe
Cyprus	Nicosia	1,442,614	Southern Europe
Czechia	Prague	10,882,341	Central Europe
Denmark	Copenhagen	6,011,488	Northern Europe
Estonia	Tallinn	1,369,995	Northern Europe
Faroe Islands	Tórshavn	54,885	Northern Europe
Finland	Helsinki	5,650,325	Northern Europe
France	Paris	66,351,959	Western Europe
Germany	Berlin	83,491,249	Western Europe
Gibraltar	Gibraltar	38,000	Southern Europe
Greece	Athens	10,400,720	Southern Europe
Guernsey	St. Peter Port	64,781	Northern Europe
Hungary	Budapest	9,539,502	Central Europe
Iceland	Reykjavik	391,810	Northern Europe
Ireland	Dublin	5,458,600	Northern Europe
Isle of Man	Douglas	84,530	Northern Europe
Italy	Rome	58,927,633	Southern Europe
Jersey	Saint Helier	103,267	Northern Europe
Kosovo	Pristina	1,585,566	Southeast Europe
Latvia	Riga	1,829,000	Northern Europe
Liechtenstein	Vaduz	40,900	Western Europe
Lithuania	Vilnius	2,894,886	Northern Europe
Luxembourg	Luxembourg	681,973	Western Europe
Malta	Valletta	574,250	Southern Europe
Moldova	Chișinău	2,749,076	Eastern Europe
Monaco	Monaco	38,423	Western Europe
Montenegro	Podgorica	623,327	Southeast Europe
Netherlands	Amsterdam	18,100,436	Western Europe
North Macedonia	Skopje	1,822,612	Southeast Europe
Norway	Oslo	5,606,944	Northern Europe
Poland	Warsaw	37,392,000	Central Europe
Portugal	Lisbon	10,749,635	Southern Europe
Romania	Bucharest	19,036,031	Southeast Europe
Russia	Moscow	146,028,325	Eastern Europe
San Marino	City of San Marino	34,132	Southern Europe
Serbia	Belgrade	6,567,783	Southeast Europe
Slovakia	Bratislava	5,413,813	Central Europe
Slovenia	Ljubljana	2,130,638	Central Europe
Spain	Madrid	49,315,949	Southern Europe
Svalbard and Jan Mayen	Longyearbyen	2,530	Northern Europe
Sweden	Stockholm	10,605,098	Northern Europe
Switzerland	Bern	9,082,848	Western Europe
Ukraine	Kyiv	32,862,000	Eastern Europe
United Kingdom	London	69,281,437	Northern Europe
Vatican City	Vatican City	882	Southern Europe

Asia(49 countries)

Country	Capital	Population	Subregion
Afghanistan	Kabul	43,844,000	Southern Asia
Armenia	Yerevan	3,076,200	Western Asia
Azerbaijan	Baku	10,241,722	Western Asia
Bahrain	Manama	1,594,654	Western Asia
Bangladesh	Dhaka	169,828,911	Southern Asia
Bhutan	Thimphu	784,043	Southern Asia
Brunei	Bandar Seri Begawan	455,500	South-Eastern Asia
Cambodia	Phnom Penh	17,577,760	South-Eastern Asia
China	Beijing	1,408,280,000	Eastern Asia
Georgia	Tbilisi	4,000,921	Western Asia
Hong Kong	City of Victoria	7,527,500	Eastern Asia
India	New Delhi	1,417,492,000	Southern Asia
Indonesia	Jakarta	284,438,782	South-Eastern Asia
Iran	Tehran	85,961,000	Southern Asia
Iraq	Baghdad	46,118,793	Western Asia
Israel	Jerusalem	10,134,800	Western Asia
Japan	Tokyo	123,210,000	Eastern Asia
Jordan	Amman	11,734,000	Western Asia
Kazakhstan	Astana	20,426,568	Central Asia
Kuwait	Kuwait City	4,881,254	Western Asia
Kyrgyzstan	Bishkek	7,281,800	Central Asia
Laos	Vientiane	7,647,000	South-Eastern Asia
Lebanon	Beirut	5,490,000	Western Asia
Malaysia	Kuala Lumpur	34,231,700	South-Eastern Asia
Maldives	Malé	515,132	Southern Asia
Mongolia	Ulan Bator	3,544,835	Eastern Asia
Myanmar	Naypyidaw	51,316,756	South-Eastern Asia
Nepal	Kathmandu	29,911,840	Southern Asia
North Korea	Pyongyang	25,950,000	Eastern Asia
Oman	Muscat	5,343,630	Western Asia
Pakistan	Islamabad	241,499,431	Southern Asia
Palestine	Ramallah	5,483,450	Western Asia
Philippines	Manila	114,123,600	South-Eastern Asia
Qatar	Doha	3,173,024	Western Asia
Saudi Arabia	Riyadh	35,300,280	Western Asia
Singapore	Singapore	6,110,200	South-Eastern Asia
South Korea	Seoul	51,159,889	Eastern Asia
Sri Lanka	Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte	21,763,170	Southern Asia
Syria	Damascus	25,620,000	Western Asia
Taiwan	Taipei	23,317,031	Eastern Asia
Tajikistan	Dushanbe	10,499,000	Central Asia
Thailand	Bangkok	65,859,640	South-Eastern Asia
Timor-Leste	Dili	1,391,221	South-Eastern Asia
Turkey	Ankara	85,664,944	Western Asia
Turkmenistan	Ashgabat	7,057,841	Central Asia
United Arab Emirates	Abu Dhabi	11,294,243	Western Asia
Uzbekistan	Tashkent	37,859,698	Central Asia
Vietnam	Hanoi	101,343,800	South-Eastern Asia
Yemen	Sana'a	32,684,503	Western Asia

Oceania(27 countries)

Country	Capital	Population	Subregion
American Samoa	Pago Pago	49,710	Polynesia
Australia	Canberra	27,536,874	Australia and New Zealand
Christmas Island	Flying Fish Cove	1,692	Australia and New Zealand
Cocos (Keeling) Islands	West Island	593	Australia and New Zealand
Cook Islands	Avarua	15,040	Polynesia
Fiji	Suva	900,869	Melanesia
French Polynesia	Papeetē	279,500	Polynesia
Guam	Hagåtña	153,836	Micronesia
Kiribati	South Tarawa	120,740	Micronesia
Marshall Islands	Majuro	42,418	Micronesia
Micronesia	Palikir	105,564	Micronesia
Nauru	Yaren	11,680	Micronesia
New Caledonia	Nouméa	264,596	Melanesia
New Zealand	Wellington	5,324,700	Australia and New Zealand
Niue	Alofi	1,681	Polynesia
Norfolk Island	Kingston	2,188	Australia and New Zealand
Northern Mariana Islands	Saipan	47,329	Micronesia
Palau	Ngerulmud	16,733	Micronesia
Papua New Guinea	Port Moresby	11,781,559	Melanesia
Pitcairn Islands	Adamstown	35	Polynesia
Samoa	Apia	205,557	Polynesia
Solomon Islands	Honiara	750,325	Melanesia
Tokelau	Fakaofo	2,608	Polynesia
Tonga	Nuku'alofa	100,179	Polynesia
Tuvalu	Funafuti	10,643	Polynesia
Vanuatu	Port Vila	321,409	Melanesia
Wallis and Futuna	Mata-Utu	11,620	Polynesia

Antarctic(2 countries)

Country	Capital	Population	Subregion
French Southern and Antarctic Lands	Port-aux-Français	400
South Georgia	King Edward Point	0