List of countries with multiple capitals
Some countries have multiple capitals. In some cases, one city is the capital for some purposes, and one or more others are capital for other purposes, without any being considered an official capital in preference to the others.
There are also cases where there is a single legally defined capital, but one or more other cities operate as the seat of government of some or all parts of the national government.
More than one capital at present
Country | Capitals | Details |
---|---|---|
Bolivia | Sucre | Constitutional capital |
La Paz | De facto executive capital | |
Eswatini | Mbabane | Administrative capital |
Lobamba | Legislative (parliament) and royal capital | |
Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | Legislative (parliament) and constitutional capital, seat of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong |
Putrajaya | Judicial capital and administrative centre; variously referred to as the administrative capital[1] | |
Netherlands | Amsterdam | Official capital |
The Hague | Legislative capital (parliament) | |
South Africa | Pretoria | Administrative and executive capital |
Cape Town | Legislative capital (parliament) | |
Bloemfontein | Judicial capital | |
Sri Lanka | Colombo | Executive and judicial capital |
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte | Legislative capital (parliament) |
More than one capital in the past
These countries have had two cities that served as administrative capitals at the same time, for various reasons such as war, weather or partition. In some cases, the second capital is considered a temporary capital.
Country | Years | Capitals | Details |
---|---|---|---|
Afghanistan | 1776–1818 | Kabul | Summer capital |
Peshawar | Winter capital | ||
British India | 1858–1947 | Kolkata (formerly Calcutta) (1858–1911) | Administrative capital |
New Delhi (1911–1947) | |||
Shimla (formerly Simla) | Summer capital | ||
Austria-Hungary | 1873–1918 | Vienna | Cisleithania |
Budapest | Kingdom of Hungary | ||
Republic of China | 1937–1945 | Nanjing | Capital of the Japanese-controlled puppet state |
Chongqing | Provisional capital of the Kuomintang-ruled Republic of China | ||
1945–1991 | Nanjing | Administrative, legislative, and judicial capital (claimed between the 1949 Retreat and the 1992 Consensus) | |
Taipei | Provisional capital of the Kuomintang-ruled Republic of China on Taiwan | ||
France | 1940–1944 | Vichy | De facto administrative capital |
Paris | De jure constitutional capital, also capital for the German military administration | ||
Kingdom of Italy | 1943–1944 | Brindisi (1943–Feb 1944) | De facto provisional capital |
Salerno (Feb–Jun 1944) | |||
Rome | De jure capital until 1944 when it was liberated by the Allies | ||
Italian Social Republic | 1943–1944 | Salò | De facto capital until 1944 when it became the primary capital |
Rome | De jure capital until 1944 when it was liberated by the Allies | ||
Laos | 1947–1975 | Vientiane | Administrative capital |
Luang Prabang | Royal capital | ||
Libya | 1951–1963 | Tripoli | One of two official capitals of the Kingdom of Libya, then Bayda became the capital of Libya from 1963 to 1969 |
Benghazi | |||
Malawi | 1974–1994 | Lilongwe | Administrative and judiciary capital |
Zomba | Legislative capital | ||
Norway | 1940 | Oslo | Official capital |
Hamar | Temporarily one-day capital that seated the parliament[2] | ||
Philippines | 1948–1976 | Quezon City | Official capital |
Manila | De facto seat of government | ||
1901–1976 | Baguio | Summer capital (still known as summer capital, outside of political use) | |
Serbia and Montenegro | 2003–2006 | Belgrade | Administrative and legislative capital |
Podgorica | Judicial capital |
See also
References
- ^ "Putrajaya | Smart Putrajaya". smart.putrajaya.my. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
- ^ Kongens nei - 9. april (Norwegian)