Capital districts and territories
A capital
A distinction should be made from administrative divisions which include national capitals, but have no special designated status legally (for example,
A few federal countries have their national capitals located in the capital city of a constituent state: Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, is also the capital of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, one of federal units and de jure capital of Republika Srpska, the other federal unit; further, Bern, the capital of Switzerland, is the capital of the Canton of Bern.
Unusually, Canada is the only
In some non-federal countries there are capital cities that do not belong to any region, but have a special status, for example Oslo in Norway. In some countries the region including the capital does not have special significance, but have names hinting that. For example, the Capital Region of Denmark is a name of a normal national region.
The following have a special administrative district or territory for their
Terminology
Class name | Term for capital | Example |
---|---|---|
Capital area | Yes | Seoul Capital Area |
Capital district | Yes | Capital District (Colombia), Niamey Capital District
|
Capital region | Yes | Capital Region of Denmark |
Capital territory | Yes | Australian Capital Territory, Islamabad Capital Territory |
Federal capital territory | Yes | Federal Capital Territory (Nigeria) |
Federal district | No | Federal District (Mexico)
|
National capital district | Yes | National Capital District (Papua New Guinea) |
National capital region | Yes | National Capital Region (Japan), National Capital Region (Philippines)
|
National capital territory | Yes | National Capital Territory (India)
|
Neutral municipality | No | Neutral Municipality (Brazil) |
Argentina
The
Australia
The
Although the ACT has its own Chief Minister and its own legislature (the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly), the Federal Parliament retains the right to overrule ACT legislation. While governing the entire ACT, the Legislative Assembly acts as a municipal/state government. The Governor-General of Australia exercises certain rights that in the states would be exercised by the governor, such as the power to issue writs for elections.
At a federal level, the ACT and the NT both elect two Senators, with the ACT electing 3 members of the House of Representatives and the NT two. The terms of the territory senators are tied to the term of the House of Representatives, not to the term of the Senate. This means that if there is an election for the Senate only (as last happened in 1970), this would involve only half the state senators, and the territory senators' terms would continue. Conversely, if there is an election for the House of Representatives only (as last happened in 1972), this would also involve the territory senators but not the state senators.
Brazil
The Federal District is a special unit of the federation, as it is not organized the same manner as a municipality, does not possess the same autonomy as a state (but is ranked among them) and is closely related to the central power.
The District Governor is elected directly for a 4-year term. Local laws are issued by a legislative chamber also elected by the local population. Judiciary affairs are carried out by the
The Brazilian federal government was transferred to the current Federal District, separate from the state of Goiás and the border with the state of Minas Gerais on April 21, 1960, when the planned city of Brasília was inaugurated. Before the transfer, the Brazilian capital was the city of Rio de Janeiro. After the transfer, the territory where the former Federal District was located became the state of Guanabara, where the city of Rio de Janeiro was included, this state that existed from 1960 to 1975, when the state of Guanabara was merged with the state of Rio de Janeiro.
Colombia
In Colombia the
Dominican Republic
In Dominican Republic the
India
The
Indonesia
In
Iraq
Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, is contained within a special capital district.
Malaysia
As per Article 154 of the Federal Constitution, the national capital of Malaysia was set in Kuala Lumpur, then part of the state of Selangor. In
Mali
Bamako, the capital of Mali, is contained within the Bamako Capital District.
Mexico
The
On 29 January 2016, the Federal District ceased to exist and its territory, under the name of Mexico City, became the 32nd federal entity of the country. Mexico City has the same rights and obligations as any of the other 31 states, albeit it is not technically one.
Niger
Niger's capital, Niamey, comprises a capital district of Niger. It is surrounded by the Tillabéri Department.
Nigeria
Nigeria's capital Abuja is located in the Federal Capital Territory. The Territory was established in 1976, and the capital was formally moved from Lagos (the historic capital) in 1991.
North Korea
North Korea's capital city, Pyongyang, while traditionally located within South Pyongan Province, is currently seen as a "directly governed city" (chikalshi 직할시). For a time, Pyongyang was considered a "special city" (t'ŭkpyŏlshi 특별시), to make it equivalent to its South Korean counterpart, Seoul.
Norway
Oslo acts as a consolidated city-county, and is separate from the other counties of Norway. All counties are co-governed by a county council and representatives from the national government.
Pakistan
The capital of
Papua New Guinea
Peru
Philippines
The National Capital Region of the Philippines is Metro Manila, the country's seat of government containing Manila, the country's capital. Created in 1975 out of four cities and twelve municipalities of the province of Rizal and one municipality of the province of Bulacan, the region is administered by seventeen separately elected mayors and their councils which are coordinated by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, a national government agency headed by a chairperson directly appointed by the Philippine President. Quezon City, the country's former capital from 1948 to 1976, is also located within this region.
South Korea
Sweden
Since 1968, Stockholm has been a consolidated city-county.
Historically, until 1967,
Taiwan (Republic of China)
Taipei, the capital of the Republic of China (colloquially known as Taiwan), is a special municipality (Chinese: 直轄市; pinyin: zhíxiáshì).
United States
As provided by Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution, the seat of the United States government is a federal district known as the District of Columbia. When created in 1790, the District comprised 100 square miles (260 km2) of land donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia. Columbia was a poetic name for the United States used at the time.
The City of Washington was built in the center of the District, but other towns were also located in the territory such as
Since the
Because of the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, the people of the District of Columbia are allowed to vote for President of the United States. The District is allotted three electoral votes, equal to that of the least populous state.
Venezuela
The Capital District has the capital of Venezuela, Caracas.