Countries and Their Capitals

A capital city is where a country runs itself from — its seat of government. Some are the obvious biggest city (London, Tokyo, Paris), but plenty aren't: Australia is run from Canberra, not Sydney; the United States from Washington, not New York; Brazil from the purpose-built Brasília, not Rio. That gap is exactly what trips people up, and exactly what makes capitals worth learning.

Below is every country and its capital, sorted alphabetically. Read through it once, then put it to the test with Velae Capitals, our free daily capital-cities game.