RareList

Capital cities of the world

196 national capitals, from the ones everyone names first to the ones almost nobody thinks of, with each capital’s country and region.

All 196 capital cities

Sorted by search interest, most familiar first. The last column is average monthly US Google searches.

Showing all 196. Tap a name to copy it.

Capital cities of the world, with definition, continent, rarity tier and monthly searches
NameWhat it isContinent
Capital of Singapore, in South-eastern Asia. Asia Plankton est.
also Washington Capital of the United States, in Northern America. North America Plankton 673K
Capital of France, in Western Europe. Europe Plankton 450K
Capital of the United Kingdom, in Northern Europe. Europe Plankton 450K
Capital of Japan, in Eastern Asia. Asia Plankton 368K
Capital of Mexico, in Central America. North America Plankton 368K
Capital of Monaco, in Western Europe. Europe Plankton est.
Capital of the Netherlands, in Western Europe. Europe Plankton 368K
Capital of Czechia, in Eastern Europe. Europe Plankton 301K
Capital of Italy, in Southern Europe. Europe Plankton 301K
Capital of Spain, in Southern Europe. Europe Plankton 301K
Capital of Denmark, in Northern Europe. Europe Plankton 246K
Capital of Germany, in Western Europe. Europe Plankton 246K
Capital of Greece, in Southern Europe. Europe Plankton 246K
Capital of Ireland, in Northern Europe. Europe Plankton 246K
Capital of Austria, in Western Europe. Europe Plankton 201K
Capital of Hungary, in Eastern Europe. Europe Plankton 201K
Capital of Luxembourg, in Western Europe. Europe Plankton est.
Capital of the United Arab Emirates, in Western Asia. Asia Plankton 201K
Capital of Argentina, in South America. South America Plankton 165K
Capital of Canada, in Northern America. North America Plankton 165K
Capital of Iran, in Southern Asia. Asia Plankton 165K
Capital of Portugal, in Southern Europe. Europe Plankton 165K
Capital of Russia, in Eastern Europe. Europe Plankton 165K
Capital of Thailand, in South-eastern Asia. Asia Plankton 165K
Capital of South Korea, in Eastern Asia. Asia Plankton 135K
Capital of China, in Eastern Asia. Asia Plankton 110K
Capital of Djibouti, in Eastern Africa. Africa Plankton est.
Capital of Iceland, in Northern Europe. Europe Plankton 110K
Capital of Indonesia, in South-eastern Asia. Asia Plankton 110K
Capital of Lebanon, in Western Asia. Asia Plankton 110K
Capital of Peru, in South America. South America Plankton 110K
Capital of Saudi Arabia, in Western Asia. Asia Plankton 110K
Capital of Sweden, in Northern Europe. Europe Plankton 110K
Capital of Syria, in Western Asia. Asia Plankton 110K
Capital of the Bahamas, in the Caribbean. North America Too Clever 91K
Capital of Belgium, in Western Europe. Europe Too Clever 91K
Capital of Cuba, in the Caribbean. North America Too Clever 91K
Capital of Egypt, in Northern Africa. Africa Too Clever 91K
Capital of Norway, in Northern Europe. Europe Too Clever 91K
Capital of the Philippines, in South-eastern Asia. Asia Too Clever 91K
Capital of Poland, in Eastern Europe. Europe Too Clever 91K
The legislative capital of South Africa, in Southern Africa. Africa Too Clever 91K
Capital of Venezuela, in South America. South America Too Clever 91K
Capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Southern Europe. Europe Too Clever 74K
Capital of Colombia, in South America. South America Too Clever 74K
Capital of the Dominican Republic, in the Caribbean. North America Too Clever 74K
Capital of Finland, in Northern Europe. Europe Too Clever 74K
Capital of Iraq, in Western Asia. Asia Too Clever 74K
Capital of Kenya, in Eastern Africa. Africa Too Clever 74K
Capital of Malaysia, in South-eastern Asia. Asia Too Clever 74K
Capital of Qatar, in Western Asia. Asia Too Clever 74K
Capital of Vietnam, in South-eastern Asia. Asia Too Clever 74K
Capital of Azerbaijan, in Western Asia. Asia Too Clever 61K
Capital of India, in Southern Asia. Asia Too Clever 61K
Seat of government of the Netherlands, in Western Europe. It is not the official capital. Europe Too Clever 61K
Capital of Romania, in Eastern Europe. Europe Too Clever 61K
Capital of Serbia, in Southern Europe. Europe Too Clever 61K
Capital of Slovenia, in Southern Europe. Europe Too Clever 61K
Capital of Somalia, in Eastern Africa. Africa Too Clever 61K
Capital of Chile, in South America. South America Too Clever est.
Capital of Costa Rica, in Central America. North America Too Clever est.
Capital of Croatia, in Southern Europe. Europe Too Clever 50K
Capital of El Salvador, in Central America. North America Too Clever 50K
Capital of Ethiopia, in Eastern Africa. Africa Too Clever 50K
Capital of Georgia, in Western Asia. Asia Too Clever 50K
Capital of Guatemala, in Central America. North America Too Clever 50K
Capital of Latvia, in Northern Europe. Europe Too Clever 50K
Capital of Nepal, in Southern Asia. Asia Too Clever 50K
Capital of Pakistan, in Southern Asia. Asia Too Clever 50K
Capital of Slovakia, in Eastern Europe. Europe Too Clever 50K
Capital of Uganda, in Eastern Africa. Africa Too Clever 50K
Capital of Uruguay, in South America. South America Too Clever 50K
Capital of Uzbekistan, in Central Asia. Asia Too Clever 50K
Capital of Australia, in Oceania. Oceania Too Clever 41K
Capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in Middle Africa. Africa Too Clever 41K
Capital of Ecuador, in South America. South America Too Clever 41K
Capital of Ghana, in Western Africa. Africa Too Clever 41K
Capital of Haiti, in the Caribbean. North America Too Clever 41K
Capital of Libya, in Northern Africa. Africa Too Clever 41K
also Ulan Bator Capital of Mongolia, in Eastern Asia. Asia Too Clever 41K
Capital of Oman, in Western Asia. Asia Too Clever 41K
also Kiev Capital of Ukraine, in Eastern Europe. Europe Too Clever 41K
Capital of Afghanistan, in Southern Asia. Asia Too Clever 33K
Capital of Algeria, in Northern Africa. Africa Too Clever 33K
Capital of Bangladesh, in Southern Asia. Asia Too Clever 33K
Capital of Belarus, in Eastern Europe. Europe Too Clever 33K
Capital of Cambodia, in South-eastern Asia. Asia Too Clever 33K
Capital of Estonia, in Northern Europe. Europe Too Clever 33K
Capital of Jamaica, in the Caribbean. North America Too Clever est.
also Nur-Sultan Capital of Kazakhstan, in Central Asia. Asia Too Clever 33K
Capital of North Korea, in Eastern Asia. Asia Too Clever 33K
Capital of Senegal, in Western Africa. Africa Too Clever 33K
The executive capital of South Africa, in Southern Africa. Africa Too Clever 33K
Capital of Turkey, in Western Asia. Asia Too Clever 33K
Capital of Brazil, in South America. South America Too Clever 27K
Capital of Bulgaria, in Eastern Europe. Europe Too Clever est.
Capital of Honduras, in Central America. North America Too Clever 27K
Capital of Lithuania, in Northern Europe. Europe Too Clever 27K
Capital of Nigeria, in Western Africa. Africa Too Clever 27K
also Berne Capital of Switzerland, in Western Europe. Europe Too Clever 27K
Capital of Armenia, in Western Asia. Asia Too Clever 22K
Capital of Jordan, in Western Asia. Asia Too Clever 22K
Capital of Nicaragua, in Central America. North America Too Clever 22K
Capital of Panama, in Central America. North America Too Clever est.
Capital of Sudan, in Northern Africa. Africa Too Clever 22K
Capital of Tunisia, in Northern Africa. Africa Too Clever 22K
Capital of Yemen, in Western Asia. Asia Too Clever 22K
Capital of Albania, in Southern Europe. Europe Too Clever 18K
Capital of Angola, in Middle Africa. Africa Too Clever 18K
Capital of Laos, in South-eastern Asia. Asia Too Clever 18K
Capital of Morocco, in Northern Africa. Africa Too Clever 18K
Capital of Papua New Guinea, in Melanesia. Oceania Too Clever 18K
Capital of Trinidad and Tobago, in the Caribbean. North America Too Clever 18K
Capital of Turkmenistan, in Central Asia. Asia Too Clever 18K
Seat of government of Bolivia, in South America. It is not the official capital. South America Too Clever est.
Capital of Cyprus, in Western Asia. Asia Too Clever 15K
Capital of Guyana, in South America. South America Too Clever est.
Capital of Kyrgyzstan, in Central Asia. Asia Too Clever 15K
Capital of Madagascar, in Eastern Africa. Africa Too Clever 15K
Capital of the Maldives, in Southern Asia. Asia Too Clever est.
Capital of Malta, in Southern Europe. Europe Too Clever 15K
Capital of North Macedonia, in Southern Europe. Europe Too Clever 15K
Capital of Rwanda, in Eastern Africa. Africa Too Clever 15K
Capital of São Tomé and Príncipe, in Middle Africa. Africa Too Clever 15K
Capital of Barbados, in the Caribbean. North America Too Clever 12K
Capital of Burkina Faso, in Western Africa. Africa Too Clever 12K
Capital of Eritrea, in Eastern Africa. Africa Too Clever 12K
Capital of Kuwait, in Western Asia. Asia Too Clever 12K
Capital of Mali, in Western Africa. Africa Too Clever 12K
Capital of New Zealand, in Oceania. Oceania Too Clever est.
Capital of Paraguay, in South America. South America Too Clever 12K
Capital of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, in the Caribbean. North America Too Clever 12K
Capital of Tajikistan, in Central Asia. Asia Too Clever 12K
Capital of Zambia, in Eastern Africa. Africa Too Clever 12K
Capital of Bahrain, in Western Asia. Asia Schooler 9.9K
Seat of government of Benin, in Western Africa. It is not the official capital. Africa Schooler 9.9K
Capital of Botswana, in Southern Africa. Africa Schooler 9.9K
Capital of Liberia, in Western Africa. Africa Schooler est.
Capital of Liechtenstein, in Western Europe. Europe Schooler 9.9K
Capital of the Marshall Islands, in Micronesia. Oceania Schooler 9.9K
Capital of Mauritius, in Eastern Africa. Africa Schooler 9.9K
Capital of Montenegro, in Southern Europe. Europe Schooler 9.9K
Capital of Mozambique, in Eastern Africa. Africa Schooler 9.9K
Capital of Namibia, in Southern Africa. Africa Schooler 9.9K
Capital of the Republic of the Congo, in Middle Africa. Africa Schooler 9.9K
Capital of Samoa, in Polynesia. Oceania Schooler 9.9K
Capital of Sierra Leone, in Western Africa. Africa Schooler 9.9K
Capital of South Sudan, in Eastern Africa. Africa Schooler 9.9K
Capital of Suriname, in South America. South America Schooler 9.9K
Capital of Togo, in Western Africa. Africa Schooler 9.9K
Capital of Zimbabwe, in Eastern Africa. Africa Schooler 9.9K
Capital of Andorra, in Southern Europe. Europe Schooler 8.1K
Capital of Antigua and Barbuda, in the Caribbean. North America Schooler est.
Capital of Belize, in Central America. North America Schooler 8.1K
Capital of Bhutan, in Southern Asia. Asia Schooler 8.1K
Capital of Moldova, in Eastern Europe. Europe Schooler 8.1K
Capital of Saint Lucia, in the Caribbean. North America Schooler 8.1K
Capital of the Central African Republic, in Middle Africa. Africa Schooler 6.6K
Capital of Chad, in Middle Africa. Africa Schooler 6.6K
Capital of Dominica, in the Caribbean. North America Schooler 6.6K
Capital of Fiji, in Melanesia. Oceania Schooler 6.6K
Capital of Guinea, in Western Africa. Africa Schooler 6.6K
Capital of Mauritania, in Western Africa. Africa Schooler 6.6K
also Nay Pyi Taw Capital of Myanmar, in South-eastern Asia. Asia Schooler 6.6K
The judicial capital of South Africa, in Southern Africa. Africa Schooler 6.6K
The constitutional capital of Bolivia, in South America. South America Schooler est.
Capital of Timor-Leste, in South-eastern Asia. Asia Schooler 5.4K
Capital of Gabon, in Middle Africa. Africa Schooler 5.4K
Capital of the Gambia, in Western Africa. Africa Schooler 5.4K
Capital of Grenada, in the Caribbean. North America Schooler est.
Capital of Niger, in Western Africa. Africa Schooler 5.4K
Capital of Saint Kitts and Nevis, in the Caribbean. North America Schooler 5.4K
Capital of San Marino, in Southern Europe. Europe Schooler 5.4K
Capital of Brunei, in South-eastern Asia. Asia Schooler 4.4K
The administrative capital of Eswatini, in Southern Africa. Africa Schooler 4.4K
The official capital of Ivory Coast, in Western Africa. Africa Schooler 4.4K
Capital of Malawi, in Eastern Africa. Africa Schooler 4.4K
The official capital of Benin, in Western Africa. Africa Schooler 3.6K
Capital of Cameroon, in Middle Africa. Africa Schooler 3.6K
Capital of Guinea-Bissau, in Western Africa. Africa Schooler 3.6K
Capital of Lesotho, in Southern Africa. Africa Schooler 3.6K
Capital of the Solomon Islands, in Melanesia. Oceania Schooler 3.6K
Capital of Sri Lanka, in Southern Asia. Asia Schooler 3.6K
Capital of Tuvalu, in Polynesia. Oceania Schooler 3.6K
Capital of Cape Verde, in Western Africa. Africa Schooler est.
Capital of Palau, in Micronesia. Oceania Schooler 2.9K
Capital of Tanzania, in Eastern Africa. Africa Schooler 2.9K
Capital of Vanuatu, in Melanesia. Oceania Schooler 2.9K
Capital of the Seychelles, in Eastern Africa. Africa Schooler est.
Capital of Burundi, in Eastern Africa. Africa Schooler 1.9K
Capital of Micronesia. Oceania Schooler 1.9K
Capital of the Comoros, in Eastern Africa. Africa Schooler est.
Capital of Kiribati, in Micronesia. Oceania Schooler 1K
The royal and legislative capital of Eswatini, in Southern Africa. Africa Rare 480
Capital of Tonga, in Polynesia. Oceania Rare 390

Questions about capital cities

How many capital cities are there?

RareList lists 196 capitals for 190 countries. The Netherlands (Amsterdam, The Hague), South Africa (Cape Town, Pretoria, Bloemfontein), Bolivia (La Paz, Sucre), Benin (Cotonou, Porto-Novo) and Eswatini (Mbabane, Lobamba) split their capital functions between cities, so each of those cities is listed with its role.

What are the best-known capital cities?

The most searched in the US are Washington, D.C., Paris, London, Tokyo and Mexico City.

Which capital city is the least searched?

Nuku'alofa, with about 390 US searches a month. Capital of Tonga, in Polynesia.

Which capitals are named after their country?

Singapore, Mexico City, Monaco, Luxembourg, Djibouti, Guatemala City, Panama City, Kuwait City and City of San Marino. In a game that asks for a capital, these are easy points but rarely rare ones.

Capitals are listed for the 193 UN member states and the State of Palestine, except where we cannot state one: Israel and Palestine (the capital is disputed), Equatorial Guinea (a move from Malabo could not be confirmed) and Nauru (no official capital). Vatican City is a city-state and is left out. Where a country splits its capital functions, each city is listed with its role. Capitals come from the open mledoze/countries dataset, checked by hand.

Searches marked “est.” are estimates: for a capital whose name mostly means something else, such as Victoria or Georgetown, we count searches for the city plus its country; for Singapore, Monaco, Luxembourg and Djibouti the city and the country share one name, so the figure is the country’s.