Capitals of the World

Capital cities, the administrative hearts of their nations, offer a mosaic of cultures, lifestyles, and amenities, contributing to their overall quality of life. Factors like safety, cost of living, healthcare quality, and pollution levels set each of the 197 capitals apart. But which city tops the chart for the best living conditions? Canberra, the tranquil and scenic capital of Australia, takes the crown, closely followed by Ottawa, known for its high quality of life and vibrant cultural scene in Canada.

When it comes to travel, the bustling streets of London, the iconic capital of Great Britain, draw the most visitors worldwide. It’s the premier choice for travelers, steeped in history and brimming with attractions. Bangkok, with its mesmerizing blend of tradition and modernity, secures the second spot, while the timeless charm of Paris, the epitome of romance and art, earns it the third place in the hearts of global tourists.

A

CountryCapital City
AfghanistanKabul
AlbaniaTirana
AlgeriaAlgiers
AndorraAndorra la Vella
AngolaLuanda
Antigua and BarbudaSaint John’s
ArgentinaBuenos Aires (de facto)
ArmeniaYerevan
AustraliaCanberra (Administrative)
AustriaVienna
AzerbaijanBaku

B

CountryCapital City
BahamasNassau
BahrainManama
BangladeshDhaka
BarbadosBridgetown
BelarusMinsk
BelgiumBrussels (de facto, administrative)
BelizeBelmopan
BeninPorto-Novo (official), Cotonou (de facto)
BhutanThimphu
BoliviaSucre (constitutional), La Paz (administrative)
Bosnia and HerzegovinaSarajevo
BotswanaGaborone
BrazilBrasília
BruneiBandar Seri Begawan
BulgariaSofia
Burkina FasoOuagadougou
BurundiGitega (political), Bujumbura (economic)

C

CountryCapital City
Cabo VerdePraia
CambodiaPhnom Penh
CameroonYaoundé
CanadaOttawa
Central African RepublicBangui
ChadN’Djamena
ChileSantiago
ChinaBeijing
ColombiaBogotá
ComorosMoroni
Congo, Democratic Republic of theKinshasa
Congo, Republic of theBrazzaville
Costa RicaSan José
Côte d’IvoireYamoussoukro (official), Abidjan (de facto)
CroatiaZagreb
CubaHavana
CyprusNicosia
Czech RepublicPrague

D

CountryCapital City
DenmarkCopenhagen
DjiboutiDjibouti City
DominicaRoseau
Dominican RepublicSanto Domingo

E

CountryCapital City
East Timor (Timor-Leste)Dili
EcuadorQuito
EgyptCairo
El SalvadorSan Salvador
Equatorial GuineaMalabo (de jure), Oyala (planned future capital)
EritreaAsmara
EstoniaTallinn
Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)Mbabane (administrative), Lobamba (legislative and royal)
EthiopiaAddis Ababa

F

CountryCapital City
FijiSuva
FinlandHelsinki
FranceParis

G

CountryCapital City
GabonLibreville
GambiaBanjul
GeorgiaTbilisi
GermanyBerlin
GhanaAccra
GreeceAthens
GrenadaSt. George’s
GuatemalaGuatemala City
GuineaConakry
Guinea-BissauBissau
GuyanaGeorgetown

H

CountryCapital City
HaitiPort-au-Prince
HondurasTegucigalpa
HungaryBudapest

I

CountryCapital City
IcelandReykjavík
IndiaNew Delhi (administrative)
IndonesiaJakarta
IranTehran
IraqBaghdad
IrelandDublin
IsraelJerusalem (declared, de facto)
ItalyRome
Ivory Coast (Côte d’Ivoire)Yamoussoukro (official), Abidjan (de facto)

J

CountryCapital City
JamaicaKingston
JapanTokyo
JordanAmman

K

CountryCapital City
KazakhstanNur-Sultan (formerly Astana)
KenyaNairobi
KiribatiSouth Tarawa
KuwaitKuwait City
KyrgyzstanBishkek

L

CountryCapital City
LaosVientiane
LatviaRiga
LebanonBeirut
LesothoMaseru
LiberiaMonrovia
LibyaTripoli
LiechtensteinVaduz
LithuaniaVilnius
LuxembourgLuxembourg City

M

CountryCapital City
MadagascarAntananarivo
MalawiLilongwe
MalaysiaKuala Lumpur (official, legislative and royal), Putrajaya (administrative)
MaldivesMalé
MaliBamako
MaltaValletta
Marshall IslandsMajuro
MauritaniaNouakchott
MauritiusPort Louis
MexicoMexico City
MicronesiaPalikir
MoldovaChișinău
MonacoMonaco
MongoliaUlaanbaatar
MontenegroPodgorica
MoroccoRabat
MozambiqueMaputo
Myanmar (formerly Burma)Naypyidaw

N

CountryCapital City
NamibiaWindhoek
NauruYaren District (de facto)
NepalKathmandu
NetherlandsAmsterdam (official), The Hague (seat of government)
New ZealandWellington
NicaraguaManagua
NigerNiamey
NigeriaAbuja
North KoreaPyongyang
North MacedoniaSkopje
NorwayOslo

P

CountryCapital City
PakistanIslamabad
PalauNgerulmud
PanamaPanama City
Papua New GuineaPort Moresby
ParaguayAsunción
PeruLima
PhilippinesManila
PolandWarsaw
PortugalLisbon

Q

CountryCapital City
QatarDoha

R

CountryCapital City
RomaniaBucharest
RussiaMoscow
RwandaKigali

S

CountryCapital City
Saint Kitts and NevisBasseterre
Saint LuciaCastries
Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesKingstown
SamoaApia
San MarinoSan Marino
São Tomé and PríncipeSão Tomé
Saudi ArabiaRiyadh
SenegalDakar
SerbiaBelgrade
SeychellesVictoria
Sierra LeoneFreetown
SingaporeSingapore (city-state)
SlovakiaBratislava
SloveniaLjubljana
Solomon IslandsHoniara
SomaliaMogadishu
South AfricaPretoria (administrative), Bloemfontein (judicial), Cape Town (legislative)
South KoreaSeoul
South SudanJuba
SpainMadrid
Sri LankaSri Jayawardenepura Kotte (legislative), Colombo (executive and judicial)
SudanKhartoum
SurinameParamaribo
SwedenStockholm
SwitzerlandBern
SyriaDamascus

T

CountryCapital City
TaiwanTaipei (seat of government)
TajikistanDushanbe
TanzaniaDodoma (official), Dar es Salaam (de facto)
ThailandBangkok
Timor-Leste (East Timor)Dili
TogoLomé
TongaNukuʻalofa
Trinidad and TobagoPort of Spain
TunisiaTunis
TurkeyAnkara
TurkmenistanAshgabat
TuvaluFunafuti

U

CountryCapital City
UgandaKampala
UkraineKyiv
United Arab EmiratesAbu Dhabi (official), Dubai (commercial)
United KingdomLondon
United StatesWashington, D.C.
UruguayMontevideo
UzbekistanTashkent

V

CountryCapital City
VanuatuPort Vila
Vatican CityVatican City (city-state)
VenezuelaCaracas
VietnamHanoi

Y

CountryCapital City
YemenSana’a

Z

CountryCapital City
ZambiaLusaka
ZimbabweHarare