Countries with multiple capitals, or countries which have moved their capitals are listed below: Bolivia
The administrative capital of Bolivia is La Paz while the legislative and judicial (constitutional) capital is Sucre.
Germany
When East and West Germany reunified in 1990, the capital was moved from Bonn (which has served as the capital of West Germany since 1949) to Berlin.
Israel
In 1950, Israel proclaimed Jerusalem as their capital city. Because Jerusalem is a city in dispute between Israel and Palestine, most countries maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, which was Israel's capital from 1948 to 1950.
Kazakhstan
Astana is the new capital of Kazakhstan. It was formerly called Akmola and earlier still, it was called Akmolinsk. The capital was previously in Alma-Ata, later renamed Almaty.
Malaysia
Recently, Malaysia made the decision to move the capital from Kuala Lumpur to a suburb of Kuala Lumpur called Putrajaya. Putrajaya is a high-technology area, part of a regional multimedia super corridor, just south of Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysian government will be relocating administrative offices and the Prime Minister's official residence to this area, where the world’s tallest buildings, the Petronas Twin Towers, are located.
Netherlands
Although Amsterdam is the most well-known city in the Netherlands, as well as being the legal capital, the seat of government and the residence of the monarchy is located in another Dutch city called The Hague.
Nigeria
Although Lagos is the most well-known city in Nigeria and most offices and functions remain centered in Lagos, the official capital city is Abuja.
South Africa
South Africa's capital is officially Pretoria, but Cape Town is its legislative capital and Bloemfontein is the site of the judiciary.
Sri Lanka
Although the official capital is still the city of Colombo, many of the governmental functions are centered in Sri Jayawardenepura, a suburb of Colombo.
Swaziland
Although Mbabane is the administrative capital, Lobamba is the legislative capital and the seat of the monarchy.
Tanzania
Although Tanzania's official capital is Dodoma, where the legislature is centered, most of the other functions (governmental, commercial and administrative functions) are centered in Dar is Salaam.
Below is a full list of countries of the world and their capitals: | Country | Capital |
| Afghanistan | Kabul |
| Albania | Tirane |
| Algeria | Algiers |
| Andorra | Andorra la Vella |
| Angola | Luanda |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Saint John's |
| Argentina | Buenos Aires |
| Armenia | Yerevan |
| Australia | Canberra |
| Austria | Vienna |
| Azerbaijan | Baku |
| The Bahamas | Nassau |
| Bahrain | Manama |
| Bangladesh | Dhaka |
| Barbados | Bridgetown |
| Belarus | Minsk |
| Belgium | Brussels |
| Belize | Belmopan |
| Benin | Porto-Novo |
| Bhutan | Thimphu |
| Bolivia | La Paz (administrative) Sucre (judicial) |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo |
| Botswana | Gaborone |
| Brazil | Brasilia |
| Brunei | Bandar Seri Begawan |
| Bulgaria | Sofia |
| Burkina Faso | Ouagadougou |
| Burundi | Bujumbura |
| Cambodia | Phnom Penh |
| Cameroon | Yaounde |
| Canada | Ottawa |
| Cape Verde | Praia |
| Central African Republic | Bangui |
| Chad | N'Djamena |
| Chile | Santiago |
| China | Beijing |
| Colombia | Bogota |
| Comoros | Moroni |
| Congo, Republic of the | Brazzaville |
| Congo, Democratic Republic of the | Kinshasa |
| Costa Rica | San Jose |
| Cote d'Ivoire | Yamoussoukro (official) Abidjan (de facto) |
| Croatia | Zagreb |
| Cuba | Havana |
| Cyprus | Nicosia |
| Czech Republic | Prague |
| Denmark | Copenhagen |
| Djibouti | Djibouti |
| Dominica | Roseau |
| Dominican Republic | Santo Domingo |
| Ecuador | Quito |
| Egypt | Cairo |
| El Salvador | San Salvador |
| Equatorial Guinea | Malabo |
| Eritrea | Asmara |
| Estonia | Tallinn |
| Ethiopia | Addis Ababa |
| Fiji | Suva |
| Finland | Helsinki |
| France | Paris |
| Gabon | Libreville |
| The Gambia | Banjul |
| Georgia | Tbilisi |
| Germany | Berlin |
| Ghana | Accra |
| Greece | Athens |
| Grenada | Saint George's |
| Guatemala | Guatemala City |
| Guinea | Conakry |
| Guinea-Bissau | Bissau |
| Guyana | Georgetown |
| Haiti | Port-au-Prince |
| Honduras | Tegucigalpa |
| Hungary | Budapest |
| Iceland | Reykjavik |
| India | New Delhi |
| Indonesia | Jakarta |
| Iran | Tehran |
| Iraq | Baghdad |
| Ireland | Dublin |
| Israel | Jerusalem |
| Italy | Rome |
| Jamaica | Kingston |
| Japan | Tokyo |
| Jordan | Amman |
| Kazakhstan | Astana |
| Kenya | Nairobi |
| Kiribati | Tarawa |
| Korea, North | Pyongyang |
| Korea, South | Seoul |
| Kuwait | Kuwait City |
| Kyrgyzstan | Bishtek |
| Laos | Vientiane |
| Latvia | Riga |
| Lebanon | Beirut |
| Lesotho | Maseru |
| Liberia | Monrovia |
| Libya | Tripoli |
| Liechtenstein | Vaduz |
| Lithuania | Vilnius |
| Luxembourg | Luxembourg |
| Macedonia | Skopje |
| Madagascar | Antananarivo |
| Malawi | Lilongwe |
| Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur |
| Maldives | Male |
| Mali | Bamko |
| Malta | Valletta |
| Marshall Islands | Majuro |
| Mauritania | Nouakchott |
| Mauritius | Port Louis |
| Mexico | Mexico City |
| Federated States of Micronesia | Palikir |
| Moldova | Chisinau |
| Monaco | Monaco |
| Mongolia | Ulaanbaatar |
| Morocco | Rabat |
| Mozambique | Maputo |
| Myanmar (Burma) | Rangoon |
| Namibia | Windhoek |
| Nauru | Yaren District |
| Nepal | Kathmandu |
| Netherlands | Amsterdam |
| New Zealand | Wellington |
| Nicaragua | Managua |
| Niger | Niamey |
| Nigeria | Abuja |
| Norway | Oslo |
| Oman | Muscat |
| Pakistan | Islamabad |
| Palau | Koror |
| Panama | Panama City |
| Papua New Guinea | Port Moresby |
| Paraguay | Asuncion |
| Peru | Lima |
| Philippines | Manila |
| Poland | Warsaw |
| Portugal | Lisbon |
| Qatar | Doha |
| Romania | Bucharest |
| Russia | Moscow |
| Rwanda | Kigali |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Basseterre |
| Saint Lucia | Castries |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Kingstown |
| Samoa | Apia |
| San Marino | San Marino |
| Sao Tome and Principe | Sao Tome |
| Saudi Arabia | Riyadh |
| Senegal | Dakar |
| Serbia (Yugoslavia) | Belgrade |
| Seychelles | Victoria |
| Sierra Leone | Freetown |
| Singapore | Singapore |
| Slovakia | Bratislava |
| Slovenia | Ljubljana |
| Solomon Islands | Honiara |
| Somalia | Mogadishu |
| South Africa | Pretoria (administrative) Cape Town (legislative) Bloemfontein (judiciary) |
| Spain | Madrid |
| Sri Lanka | Colombo |
| Sudan | Khartoum |
| Suriname | Paramaribo |
| Swaziland | Mbabana |
| Sweden | Stockholm |
| Switzerland | Bern |
| Syria | Damascus |
| Tajikistan | Dushanbe |
| Tanzania | Dar es Salaam |
| Thailand | Bangkok |
| Togo | Lome |
| Tonga | Nuku'alofa |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Port-of-Spain |
| Tunisia | Tunis |
| Turkey | Ankara |
| Turkmenistan | Ashgabat |
| Tuvalu | Funafuti |
| Uganda | Kampala |
| Ukraine | Kiev |
| United Arab Emirates | Abu Dhabi |
| United Kingdom | London |
| United States | Washington D.C. |
| Uruguay | Montevideo |
| Uzbekistan | Tashkent |
| Vanuatu | Port-Vila |
| Vatican City (Holy See) | Vatican City |
| Venezuela | Caracas |
| Vietnam | Hanoi |
| Yemen | Sanaa |
| Zambia | Lusaka |
| Zimbabwe | Harare |
Note: Excluded from this list are Montenegro and East Timor. Following its referendum on independence in 2002, official proclamation, international recognition and logisitical separation, East Timor became independent of Indonesia. Its capital is Dili. Following its referendum on independence in 2006, official proclamation, international recognition and logisitical separation, Montengro became the newest country in the world, while the successor state of the former Serbia and Montenegro was Serbia. The capital of the successor state of Serbia remains Belgrade; the capital of Montenegro is Cetinje.
Learn more about the countries of the world at
www.countrywatch.com-- Denise Youngblood Coleman Ph.D.
Editor in Chief and Executive Vice President
June, 2007