Humanities › Geography Capitals of Every Independent Country 195 Capital Cities of the World Share Flipboard Email Print Pawel Libera / Photolibrary / Getty Images Geography Country Information Basics Physical Geography Political Geography Population Key Figures & Milestones Maps Urban Geography By Matt Rosenberg Matt Rosenberg Geography Expert M.A., Geography, California State University - Northridge B.A., Geography, University of California - Davis Matt Rosenberg is an award-winning geographer and the author of "The Handy Geography Answer Book" and "The Geography Bee Complete Preparation Handbook." Learn about our Editorial Process Updated on February 04, 2020 There are 195 nations officially recognized as independent countries in the world, each with its own capital city. A significant number of countries have multiple capital cities. Where that occurs, the additional capital cities are listed as well. Is Taiwan a Country? The United Nations list of nations doesn't include Taiwan as separate but as a part of China: 193 U.N. member nations and two nonvoting observer states, the Vatican City and Palestine. As of Jan. 20, 2020, only 15 countries recognize Taiwan as an independent nation. Eight countries that previously did so established diplomatic relations with China after President Tsai Ing-Wen's election in May 2016. Tsai was reelected on Jan. 10, 2020. The Countries of the World and their Capitals Check out this alphabetical list of every independent nation and its capital (Taiwan is also included): Afghanistan: KabulAlbania: TiranaAlgeria: AlgiersAndorra: Andorra la VellaAngola: LuandaAntigua and Barbuda: Saint John'sArgentina: Buenos AiresArmenia: YerevanAustralia: CanberraAustria: ViennaAzerbaijan: BakuThe Bahamas: NassauBahrain: ManamaBangladesh: DhakaBarbados: BridgetownBelarus: MinskBelgium: BrusselsBelize: BelmopanBenin: Porto-NovoBhutan: ThimphuBolivia: La Paz (administrative); Sucre (judicial)Bosnia and Herzegovina: SarajevoBotswana: GaboroneBrazil: BrasiliaBrunei: Bandar Seri BegawanBulgaria: SofiaBurkina Faso: OuagadougouBurundi: Gitega (changed from Bujumbura in December 2018)Cambodia: Phnom PenhCameroon: YaoundeCanada: OttawaCape Verde: PraiaCentral African Republic: BanguiChad: N'DjamenaChile: SantiagoChina: BeijingColombia: BogotaComoros: MoroniCongo, Republic of the: BrazzavilleCongo, Democratic Republic of the: KinshasaCosta Rica: San JoseCote d'Ivoire: Yamoussoukro (official); Abidjan (de facto)Croatia: ZagrebCuba: HavanaCyprus: NicosiaCzech Republic: PragueDenmark: CopenhagenDjibouti: DjiboutiDominica: RoseauDominican Republic: Santo DomingoEast Timor (Timor-Leste): DiliEcuador: QuitoEgypt: CairoEl Salvador: San SalvadorEquatorial Guinea: MalaboEritrea: AsmaraEstonia: TallinnEthiopia: Addis AbabaFiji: SuvaFinland: HelsinkiFrance: ParisGabon: LibrevilleThe Gambia: BanjulGeorgia: TbilisiGermany: BerlinGhana: AccraGreece: AthensGrenada: Saint George'sGuatemala: Guatemala CityGuinea: ConakryGuinea-Bissau: BissauGuyana: GeorgetownHaiti: Port-au-PrinceHonduras: TegucigalpaHungary: BudapestIceland: ReykjavikIndia: New DelhiIndonesia: JakartaIran: TehranIraq: BaghdadIreland: DublinIsrael: Jerusalem*Italy: RomeJamaica: KingstonJapan: TokyoJordan: AmmanKazakhstan: Nur-SultanKenya: NairobiKiribati: Tarawa AtollKorea, North: PyongyangKorea, South: SeoulKosovo: PristinaKuwait: Kuwait CityKyrgyzstan: BishkekLaos: VientianeLatvia: RigaLebanon: BeirutLesotho: MaseruLiberia: MonroviaLibya: TripoliLiechtenstein: VaduzLithuania: VilniusLuxembourg: LuxembourgMacedonia: SkopjeMadagascar: AntananarivoMalawi: LilongweMalaysia: Kuala LumpurMaldives: MaleMali: BamakoMalta: VallettaMarshall Islands: MajuroMauritania: NouakchottMauritius: Port LouisMexico: Mexico CityMicronesia, Federated States of: PalikirMoldova: ChisinauMonaco: MonacoMongolia: UlaanbaatarMontenegro: PodgoricaMorocco: RabatMozambique: MaputoMyanmar (Burma): Rangoon (Yangon); Naypyidaw or Nay Pyi Taw (administrative)Namibia: WindhoekNauru: no official capital; government offices in Yaren DistrictNepal: KathmanduNetherlands: Amsterdam; The Hague (seat of government)New Zealand: WellingtonNicaragua: ManaguaNiger: NiameyNigeria: AbujaNorway: OsloOman: MuscatPakistan: IslamabadPalau: MelekeokPanama: Panama CityPapua New Guinea: Port MoresbyParaguay: AsuncionPeru: LimaPhilippines: ManilaPoland: WarsawPortugal: LisbonQatar: DohaRomania: BucharestRussia: MoscowRwanda: KigaliSaint Kitts and Nevis: BasseterreSaint Lucia: CastriesSaint Vincent and the Grenadines: KingstownSamoa: ApiaSan Marino: San MarinoSao Tome and Principe: Sao TomeSaudi Arabia: RiyadhSenegal: DakarSerbia: BelgradeSeychelles: VictoriaSierra Leone: FreetownSingapore: SingaporeSlovakia: BratislavaSlovenia: LjubljanaSolomon Islands: HoniaraSomalia: MogadishuSouth Africa: Pretoria (administrative); Cape Town (legislative); Bloemfontein (judiciary)South Sudan: Juba Spain: MadridSri Lanka: Colombo; Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte (legislative)Sudan: KhartoumSuriname: ParamariboSwaziland: MbabaneSweden: StockholmSwitzerland: BernSyria: DamascusTaiwan: TaipeiTajikistan: DushanbeTanzania: Dar es Salaam; Dodoma (legislative)Thailand: BangkokTogo: LomeTonga: Nuku'alofaTrinidad and Tobago: Port-of-SpainTunisia: TunisTurkey: AnkaraTurkmenistan: AshgabatTuvalu: Vaiaku village, Funafuti provinceUganda: KampalaUkraine: KyivUnited Arab Emirates: Abu DhabiUnited Kingdom: LondonUnited States of America: Washington, D.C.Uruguay: MontevideoUzbekistan: TashkentVanuatu: Port-VilaVatican City (Holy See): Vatican CityVenezuela: CaracasVietnam: HanoiYemen: SanaaZambia: LusakaZimbabwe: Harare An important fact to note is that the executive, judicial, and legislative branches of the State of Israel are all located in Jerusalem, making it the capital; nonetheless, almost all countries maintain their embassies in Tel Aviv. President Donald Trump moved the U.S. embassy to Jerusalem in 2018 and others may follow, possibly just to "curry favor" with the United States for aid in their own crises, Eric Olson told the Washington Post. While the listing above is an authoritative listing of the independent countries of the world, it is important to note that there are also more than 80 territories, colonies, and dependencies of independent countries, which often have their own capital cities as well. View Article Sources "Independent States in the World." Bureau of Intelligence and Research, U.S. Department of State, 27 March 2019. "Member States of the United Nations." United Nations. Lawrence, Susan V. "Taiwan: Select Political and Security Issues." Congressional Research Service, 21 Jan. 2020. "Dependencies and Areas of Special Sovereignty." Bureau of Intelligence and Research, 7 March 2019. Cite this Article Format mla apa chicago Your Citation Rosenberg, Matt. "Capitals of Every Independent Country." ThoughtCo, Apr. 5, 2023, thoughtco.com/capitals-of-every-independent-country-1434452. Rosenberg, Matt. (2023, April 5). Capitals of Every Independent Country. Retrieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/capitals-of-every-independent-country-1434452 Rosenberg, Matt. "Capitals of Every Independent Country." ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/capitals-of-every-independent-country-1434452 (accessed June 6, 2023). copy citation