View source for Place:List of purpose-built national capitals

{{Short description|Purpose-built capital cities}}


This is a list of capital cities that were specially designed, planned, and built to be a [[Social:Nation state|national]] or [[Earth:Region|region]]al capital.

== Built ==

{{Clear}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! width="100" | City
! width="100" | Country
! width="60" data-sort-type=isoDate | Date
! Notes
|- 
| [[Place:Abuja|Abuja]]
|{{flag|Nigeria}}
| data-sort-value="1991" | 1991
| In 1976, Nigeria's military government made plans for a new capital city. In 1991, it was moved from [[Place:Lagos|Lagos]] in order to provide a capital city that was independent of the three major ethnic groups, the Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa-Fulani, in an area in the interior of the country. A new capital also allowed for a way to relieve the congestion and overcrowding of Lagos.
|- 
| Akhetaten
| Ancient Egypt ([[History:New Kingdom of Egypt|New Kingdom]])
| data-sort-value="-1346" | 1346 BC
|Established by [[Social:Pharaoh|Pharaoh]] [[Biography:Akhenaten|Akhenaten]]. Abandoned in 1332 BC, shortly after his death. Named "Amarna" by later writers.
|-
| [[Place:Ankara|Ankara]]{{efn|name=fn1|Modern parts of the city are placed beside or within old cities.}}
| {{flag|Turkey}}
| data-sort-value="1923" | 1923
| After having served as the capital of the ancient Celtic state of Galatia (280–64 BC), and later of the Roman province with the same name (25 BC–7th century), on 23 April 1920, the Grand National Assembly of Turkey was established in Ankara. Ankara became the new Turkish capital upon the establishment of the Republic on 29 October 1923, succeeding in this role the former Turkish capital Istanbul (Constantinople).
|-

| [[Place:Astana|Astana]]{{efn|name=fn1}}
|{{flag|Kazakhstan}}
| data-sort-value="1998" | 1998
| After the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the consequent independence of Kazakhstan, the city's original form was restored in the modified form ''Akmola''.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Pospelov |first1=Evgeni M. |url=http://www.twirpx.com/file/873195/ |script-title=ru:Имена городов: вчера и сегодня (1917–1992). Топонимический словарь |trans-title=City Names: Yesterday and Today (1917–1992). Toponymic Dictionary | publisher=Русские словари | year=1993 |lang=ru |url-access=registration |pages=24–25}}</ref> On 6 July 1994, the Supreme Council of Kazakhstan adopted the decree "On the transfer of the capital of Kazakhstan".<ref name="Astana - the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan">{{cite web|publisher=e-history.kz|title=Astana – the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan |url=http://e-history.kz/en/contents/view/378 |access-date=23 February 2015}}</ref> After the capital of Kazakhstan was moved to Akmola on 10 December 1997, the city was consequently renamed Astana in 1998.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/country_profiles/1298395.stm |title=Timeline: Kazakhstan |publisher=BBC News |date=31 January 2012 |access-date=24 November 2013}}</ref> On 10 June 1998, Astana was presented as the capital internationally.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.akorda.kz/en/category/astana |title=Astana – the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan |publisher=Official site of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan |access-date=10 March 2015  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150317063010/http://akorda.kz/en/category/astana |archive-date=17 March 2015 }}</ref> On 16 July 1999, Astana was awarded the medal and title of the City of Peace by [[Organization:UNESCO|UNESCO]].<ref name="Astana - the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan" />
|-
| Ava (Inwa)
| Ava Kingdom
| data-sort-value="1365" | 1365
| Founded in 1365, Ava (Inwa) was the capital of successive Burmese kingdoms from the 14th to 19th centuries.
|-
| {{wipe|Austin, Texas}}
|{{Flagicon image|Flag of Texas.svg}} Republic of Texas
| data-sort-value="1839" | 1839
| The Republic of Texas (1839-1847) had five temporary capitals and one official capital, Houston, before its second president Mirabeau B. Lamar moved the capital to the new city of Austin, which remains the capital of the republic's successor, the U.S. state of {{wipe|Texas}}.
|-
| Ayutthaya
| {{flagicon image|Flag of Thailand (Ayutthaya period).svg}} [[History:Ayutthaya Kingdom|Ayutthaya Kingdom]] ({{flag|Thailand}})
| data-sort-value="1350" | 1350
| Founded by Uthong after a [[Medicine:Smallpox|smallpox]] outbreak in Lop Buri in 1350
|- 
| [[Place:Baghdad|Baghdad]]
|{{Flagicon image|Abbassid banner.svg}} [[Place:Abbasid Caliphate|Abbasid Caliphate]]
| data-sort-value="762" | 762
| Victorious Abbasid rulers wanted their own capital to rule from. Choosing a site north of the defeated Sassanid's capital of Ctesiphon (and also just north of where ancient Babylon once stood), on 30 July 762 the caliph Al-Mansur commissioned the construction of the city. The city remains the capital of the modern Republic of Iraq. 
|- 
| [[Place:Belmopan|Belmopan]]
|{{flag|British Honduras}} (present-day {{flag|Belize}})
| data-sort-value="1970" | 1970
| In 1970, it was moved from Belize City after 1961's Hurricane Hattie caused extensive damage to that city.
|- 
| [[Engineering:Brasília|Brasília]]
|{{flag|Brazil}}
| data-sort-value="1960" | 1960
| In 1960, it was moved from Rio de Janeiro because of overcrowding, to encourage inland growth, to make the location of the capital more regionally neutral as was stated in the Brazilian constitution in 1891, and to eliminate the vulnerability to attacks by sea.
|-
| [[Place:Bridgetown|Bridgetown]]
| {{flag|Barbados}}
| data-sort-value="1628" | 1628
| Moved from [[Place:Holetown|James Town]] to Bridgetown in 1628, due to better topography for a better shipping harbor.
|-
| [[Place:Canberra|Canberra]]
|{{flag|Australia}}
|1927
|The federal constitution adopted in 1901 required that a new capital be situated within the state of New South Wales but at least {{convert|100|mi}} from [[Place:Sydney|Sydney]]. This was a compromise between the claims of Sydney and [[Place:Melbourne|Melbourne]], Australia's two largest cities. The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) was created in 1911 and Canberra was formally established in 1913; however it was not until 1927, with the relocation of federal parliament, that it was designated as the capital.
|-
| [[Place:Oslo|Christiania]]
|{{flag|Norway}}
| data-sort-value="1624" | 1624
| After a fire devastated medieval Oslo in 1624, King Christian IV ordered the city to be rebuilt further west, closer to the fortress, and renamed Christiania. Beginning in 1859, the former site of Oslo has been included in the city's borders. The city retook the name of Oslo in 1925.
|-
| Constantinople
|{{Flagicon image|Vexilloid of the Roman Empire.svg}} Roman Empire 
| data-sort-value="330" | 330
| Established by Constantine the Great to be a capital for the Eastern Roman Empire. After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, it became the only capital of the empire. Established on the site of old Byzantium, the new city almost completely replaced the old one. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire in 1453 it became the capital of the [[Place:Ottoman Empire|Ottoman Empire]] until its dissolution after [[Social:World War I|World War I]], when the [[Place:Turkey|Republic of Turkey]] established its new capital in [[Place:Ankara|Ankara]]. It also served as the capital of the Latin Empire after the Fourth Crusade in the 13th century. 
|-
| [[Place:Dodoma|Dodoma]]{{efn|name=fn1}}
| {{flag|Tanzania}}
| data-sort-value="1996" | 1996
| From 1996, moved from [[Place:Dar es Salaam|Dar es Salaam]]
|-
| [[Place:Fujiwara-kyō|Fujiwara-kyō]]
|{{Flagicon image|Flag of Japan (1870–1999).svg}} {{wipe|Japan}}
| data-sort-value="694" | 694
| In 694, the capital was moved there from Asuka, but moved out to [[Place:Nara, Nara|Nara]] in 710.
|-
| [[Place:Gaborone|Gaborone]]
|{{flag|Botswana}}
| data-sort-value="1964" | 1964
| In 1964, it moved from [[Place:Mahikeng|Mahikeng]], {{wipe|South Africa}}, when Botswana became an independent country.<ref>{{cite web|first=Purity |last=Njeru |title=History of Gaborone |url=http://www.africanexecutive.com/modules/magazine/articles.php?article=703 |publisher=The African Executive |location=Nairobi, Kenya |year=2009 |access-date=20 June 2009  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707100754/http://www.africanexecutive.com/modules/magazine/articles.php?article=703 |archive-date=7 July 2011 }}</ref>
|-
|[[Place:Islamabad|Islamabad]]
|{{flag|Pakistan}}
| data-sort-value="1960" | 1960
|Beginning in 1960, the capital was shifted from [[Place:Karachi|Karachi]] temporarily to [[Place:Rawalpindi|Rawalpindi]], and the move was completed in 1966. Islamabad was created to diversify development across the country, rather than for it to be centered in the south, along the Arabian Sea coast.
|-
| [[Place:Karlsruhe|Karlsruhe]]
|{{Flagicon image|Banner of Baden (1^1).svg}} Baden-Durlach (modern-day {{Flag|Germany}})
| data-sort-value="1715" | 1715
| In 1715, it was moved from Durlach to Karlsruhe, which became the capital of the unified [[Place:Baden|Baden]] in 1771. Karlsruhe remained the capital of the Grand Duchy of Baden after German unification following the Franco-Prussian War of 1871; it ceased being the capital of any territorial entity in 1945, at the end of [[Social:World War II|World War II]]. 
|-
| [[Place:Kyoto|Kyoto]]
|{{flag|Japan|1870}}
| data-sort-value="794" | 794
| In 794, the capital was moved from Nagaokakyō to Kyoto, but it was moved again to [[Place:Tokyo|Tokyo]] (Edo) in about 1868, when the Emperor of Japan moved during the Meiji Restoration and the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate. (see article [[Place:Capital of Japan|capital of Japan]]).
|-
| [[Place:Lima|Lima]]
|{{Flagicon image|Flag of Cross of Burgundy.svg}} Viceroyalty of Peru
| data-sort-value="1535" | 1535
| Moved in 1535. Cuzco had been the inland capital of the Inca Empire, but when the [[Place:Spanish Empire|Spanish Empire]] took control of Peru, Lima was founded along the [[Earth:Pacific Ocean|Pacific Ocean]] to be the capital. Francisco Pizarro founded Lima on the coast to take advantage of being closer to the Isthmus of Panama and the [[Place:Spanish Empire|Spanish Empire]]'s colonies in [[Earth:North America|North America]] and more protected from the war-torn highlands of Peru.
|-
| Mandalay
|{{Flagicon image|Flag of the Alaungpaya Dynasty of Myanmar.svg}} Burma
| data-sort-value="1859" | 1859
| Mandalay was built during 1857–1859 by King Mindon, and it was the last royal capital of the Burmese Kingdom. The site was chosen in accordance to a supposed prophecy by The [[Biography:Gautama Buddha|Buddha]]. Mandalay is now the second largest city in Myanmar.
|-
| [[Place:Naypyidaw|Naypyidaw]]
|{{flag|Myanmar|1974}}
| data-sort-value="2005" | 2005
| In 2005, it was moved from [[Place:Yangon|Yangon]] (Rangoon) to have their military government more centrally located geographically, "so as to keep an eye on" rebel groups forming and training for coups in the jungles and away from the political activities of Yangon
|- 
| [[Place:New Delhi|New Delhi]] 
|{{flag|British Raj}} (present-day {{Flag|India}})
| data-sort-value="1912" | 1912
| In 1912, the capital was moved from Calcutta (now Kolkata) to New Delhi. The neighbouring city of Delhi already existed, and it had previously served as the capital of the Mughal Empire.
|-
| [[Place:Ngerulmud|Ngerulmud]]
|{{flag|Palau}}
| data-sort-value="2006" | 2006
| In 2006, it was moved from Koror City.
|- 
| [[Place:Nouakchott|Nouakchott]] 
|{{flag|Mauritania}}
| data-sort-value="1958" | 1958
| In 1958, it was moved from [[Place:Saint-Louis, Senegal|Saint-Louis, Senegal]] by President Moktar Ould Daddah.
|- 
| Pinya
| [[History:Pinya Kingdom|Pinya Kingdom]]
| data-sort-value="1313" | 7 February 1313
| Founded in 1313, Pinya was the capital of the central Burmese kingdom of Pinya from 1313 to 1365.
|-
| [[Place:Palikir|Palikir]]
|{{flag|Federated States of Micronesia}}
| data-sort-value="1989" | 1989
| From 1989, moved from [[Place:Kolonia|Kolonia]]
|- 
| Pella
| Ancient Macedonia
| data-sort-value="-400" | c. 400 BC
| Moved from Aigai due to more fertile land and suitable location for a port, connected to the sea by a navigable inlet.
|-
| [[Place:Pretoria|Pretoria]]
|{{flag|South African Republic}}
| data-sort-value="1860" | 1860
| Pretoria was founded in 1855 by Marthinus Pretorius, a leader of the Voortrekkers, who named it after his father Andries Pretorius and chose a spot on the banks of the Apies rivier (Afrikaans for "Monkeys river") to be the new capital of the South African Republic (Dutch: Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek; ZAR).
|-
| [[Place:Putrajaya|Putrajaya]]
|{{flag|Malaysia}}
| data-sort-value="2002" | 2002
| In February 2001, Putrajaya was designated as the administrative capital of Malaysia, as the executive branch of government (Cabinet, federal ministries and agencies) was moved from [[Place:Kuala Lumpur|Kuala Lumpur]] to Putrajaya. The seat of the judicial branch of government was also relocated to Putrajaya. However, Kuala Lumpur remains the official capital as well as the seat of the head of state and the legislative branch (Parliament of Malaysia).
|-
| [[Place:Quezon City|Quezon City]]
|{{flag|Philippines|1936}}
| data-sort-value="1948" | 1948
| The city was created in 1939 by President Manuel L. Quezon. In 1948, the capital was moved from [[Place:Manila|Manila]] to the new, neighbouring city. However, the capital was reverted to Manila in 1976.
|-
| Saint Petersburg
|{{flag|Russian Empire}}
| data-sort-value="1712" | 1712
| Built by Peter the Great in the beginning of 18th century on territory captured from Sweden in the Great Northern War, capital since 1712. The Bolsheviks finally settled on [[Place:Moscow|Moscow]] in 1918.
|-
| [[Place:Valletta|Valletta]]
| {{flagicon|SMOM}} Hospitaller Malta
| data-sort-value="1571" | 1571
| In 1571, as a result of the Great Siege of Malta six years earlier, the capital was moved from [[Place:Birgu|Birgu]] to Valletta. The new capital city was built on the Sciberras Peninsula between 1566 and 1571, and it was named for the Grandmaster Jean Parisot de Valette.
|-
| Victoria City
| {{flag|Hong Kong|1871}}
| data-sort-value=1841|1841
| Stanley was the temporary administrative centre until the colonial government moved to the newly-built Victoria City.
|-
| [[Place:Washington, D.C.|Washington]]
| {{flag|United States}}
| data-sort-value="1800" | 1800
| In 1800, the capital of the United States was moved here from its temporary capital in Philadelphia, after years of construction in the federal District of Columbia. The U.S. Constitution had authorized the federal government to set aside a federal district as a national capital. The move was part of the Compromise of 1790 between Thomas Jefferson and Alexander Hamilton allowing the U.S. Department of the Treasury to assume state governments' debts as a national debt in exchange for locating the capital in the South. Virginia and Maryland each ceded land for the capital. 
|-
| [[Place:Yamoussoukro|Yamoussoukro]]{{efn|name=fn1}}
| {{flag|Ivory Coast}}
| data-sort-value="1983" | 1983
| From 1983, moved from [[Place:Abidjan|Abidjan]]
|}

== Currently proposed or under construction ==
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! width="100" | City
! width="100" | Country
! width="60" data-sort-type=isoDate | Date
! Notes
|-
|[[Place:Ciudad de la Paz|Djibloho]]
|{{Flag|Equatorial Guinea}}
|{{TBA}}
|[[Place:Ciudad de la Paz|Djibloho]] is under construction and is expected to replace [[Place:Malabo|Malabo]] as Equatorial Guinea's capital city.
|-
|[[Place:Little Bay, Montserrat|Little Bay]]
|{{flag|United Kingdom}}<br />({{Flag|Montserrat}})
|{{TBA}}
|[[Place:Little Bay, Montserrat|Little Bay]] is a town under construction in Montserrat, intended to replace the previous capital, [[Place:Plymouth, Montserrat|Plymouth]], which was destroyed by the eruption of the [[Earth:Soufrière Hills|Soufrière Hills]] volcano in 1997.
|-
|[[Place:New Administrative Capital|New Administrative Capital]]
|{{Flag|Egypt}}
|{{TBA}}
|In March 2015, [[Place:Egypt|Egypt]] proposed building a [[Place:New Administrative Capital|New Administrative Capital]], currently undergoing a naming process.<ref>{{Cite web|title=مسابقة هوية مصر|url=https://www.egbranding.eg/|access-date=2021-11-04|website=www.egbranding.eg}}</ref> It is now under construction and lies east of the present capital [[Place:Cairo|Cairo]]. The city is projected to be home to more than 40 million people by 2050.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/mar/16/new-cairo-egypt-plans-capital-city-desert|title=A new New Cairo: Egypt plans £30bn purpose-built capital in desert|last=Kingsley|first=Patrick|date=2015-03-16|website=the Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-11-20}}</ref>
|-
|[[Place:Nusantara (planned city)|Nusantara]]
|{{Flag|Indonesia}}
|{{center|2024}}
|Nusantara is under construction since July 2022 and is expected to replace [[Place:Jakarta|Jakarta]] as the [[Place:Capital of Indonesia|capital of Indonesia]] on or before 16 August 2024.<ref name=Bloomberg822>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-02/indonesia-breaks-ground-on-nusantara-as-jakarta-sinks |title=Indonesia Breaks Ground on Nusantara as Jakarta Sinks |work=Bloomberg |author=Faris Mokhtar |author2=Rieka Rahadiana |date=2 August 2022 }}</ref> For decades, Indonesia has mulled the relocation of its capital from [[Place:Jakarta|Jakarta]], which is overcrowded and [[Subsidence|subsiding]] rapidly. On 26 August 2019, President Joko Widodo announced that the future Indonesian capital will be carved from Penajam North Paser and Kutai Kartanegara regencies in East Kalimantan province.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sbs.com.au/news/indonesia-plans-to-relocate-its-capital-from-jakarta|title=Indonesia plans to relocate its capital from Jakarta|website=SBS News|language=en|access-date=2019-05-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Kusuma |first1=Hendra |title=Resmi! Jokowi Putuskan Ibu Kota RI Pindah ke Kaltim |url=https://finance.detik.com/properti/d-4681152/resmi-jokowi-putuskan-ibu-kota-ri-pindah-ke-kaltim |access-date=26 August 2019 |work=detikfinance |date=26 August 2019 |language=id}}</ref> The proposed capital was named Nusantara on 16 January 2022.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Head Of Bappenas Suharso: Name Of The Capital City Of The Archipelago|url=https://voi.id/en/berita/124819/kepala-bappenas-suharso-nama-ibu-kota-negara-nusantara|access-date=2022-01-17|website=VOI - Waktunya Merevolusi Pemberitaan|language=en}}</ref>
|-
|[[Place:Ramciel|Ramciel]]
|{{Flag|South Sudan}}
|{{TBA}}
|In February 2011, the Autonomous Government of Southern Sudan adopted a resolution to study moving the capital of the new Republic of South Sudan that was to be created in July of that year to a new, planned city. In September 2011, the government of South Sudan approved a project to build a new capital at [[Place:Ramciel|Ramciel]] in Lakes state; it is projected that the project will take at least five years.
|-
|[[Place:Sejong City|Sejong]]
|{{Flag|South Korea}}
|no longer planned national capital<ref>{{cite web|title=Sejong City to open Sunday|url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20120628001115|website=Korea Herald| date=28 June 2012 |access-date=24 June 2016}}</ref>
|{{wipe|South Korea}} began construction of [[Place:Sejong City|Sejong]] in 2007, with the first inhabitants arriving in 2012. While originally intended to replace [[Place:Seoul|Seoul]] as the national capital, this idea was struck down by the Constitutional Court in October 2004.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sejong City to open Sunday|url=http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20120628001115|website=Korea Herald| date=28 June 2012 |access-date=24 June 2016}}</ref> The city has instead been repurposed to be a business and technology hub,<ref>{{cite web | title=Sejong City to Become Biz Hub, Not Gov`t District | url=https://www.donga.com/en/List/article/all/20100112/264198/1 | website=Dong-A Ilbo | date=12 January 2010 | access-date=29 December 2023}}</ref> and as of 2019 a number of government ministries have been relocated to the city, <ref>{{cite web | title=South Korea’s Master-Planned City Draws Criticism | url=https://www.usnews.com/news/cities/articles/2019-06-04/sejong-south-koreas-new-administrative-capital-city-draws-critics | website=U.S. News & World Report | date=4 June 2019 | access-date=29 December 2023}}</ref> despite criticisms that it has not thus far lived up to expectations as either a hub or a form of population density/congestion relief.
|}

== Former proposals and attempts ==

* [[Place:Germania (city)|Welthauptstadt Germania]] was the proposed renewal of [[Place:Berlin|Berlin]], ([[Place:Nazi Germany|Nazi Germany]]) as a planned "world capital", although only a small portion was built between 1937 and 1943. Many of the plans were designed by Albert Speer. Progress was halted by the failure of Operation Barbarossa during World War II.
* Al-Karamah was intended to be the permanent capital of the [[Place:United Arab Emirates|United Arab Emirates]] located between [[Place:Abu Dhabi|Abu Dhabi]] and Dubai, but it was never built.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QcMz3zV0qAMC&pg=PA131|title=United Arab Emirates: a new perspective|author1=Ibrahim Al Abed|author2=Peter Hellyer|date=1 June 2001|publisher=Trident Press Ltd|isbn=978-1-900724-47-0|page=131|access-date=25 January 2021}}</ref>
* Viedma, the capital of the [[Place:Río Negro Province|Río Negro Province]], was proposed by President Raúl Alfonsín as a new capital for Argentina in 1986, replacing [[Place:Buenos Aires|Buenos Aires]]. The idea was to change the centralization in the port of Buenos Aires, and promote development in Patagonia. The economic collapse of Alfonsín government halted the project that had been approved by Law.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Santi|first=Matías Di|title=El traslado de la capital a Viedma|url=https://chequeado.com/ique-fue-de/el-traslado-de-la-capital-a-viedma/|access-date=2021-11-20|website=Chequeado|language=es}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

== References ==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Lists of capitals|Purpose-built]]
[[Category:Planned capitals|*]]

{{Sourceattribution|List of purpose-built national capitals}}