Most countries have one capital city. It’s where important government work happens — like meetings in parliament or the president’s office. But a few countries have more than one capital, and the reasons are often linked to history, geography or politics.South Africa is the best-known example. It has not one, not two, but three capitals. Pretoria handles the country’s administration, Cape Town is where the parliament sits, and Bloemfontein takes care of the courts. This three-capital system came about when several regions with their own centres of power joined together to form one country. Instead of picking just one city, they decided to share the role.In Bolivia, the story is similar. Sucre is the constitutional capital — meaning it's the official one — but most government action happens in La Paz, where the president and parliament are based. Sucre has the title; La Paz does the work.The Netherlands has Amsterdam as its official capital, but all government offices are in The Hague. So while tourists head to Amsterdam, politicians head to The Hague.Sometimes, a second capital is created on purpose. In Malaysia, the old capital, Kuala Lumpur, was getting crowded. So the government built a new city called Putrajaya, where most ministries now work. Kuala Lumpur kept its royal and cultural importance, but the brain of the government moved out.Having two capitals helps some countries keep peace between regions, reduce overcrowding, or build new cities for the future. But it also creates confusion — especially for students trying to remember which city does what!So remember next time you’re asked, “What’s the capital of South Africa or Bolivia?”, you’ll know the real answer isn’t so simple. And maybe you’ll remember: sometimes, even countries like to share. The highest capital in the worldLa Paz in Bolivia sits over 3,600 metres above sea level — so high that visitors often need time to adjust to the thin air.The capital that movesIn Nigeria, the capital used to be Lagos, a bustling coastal city. But in 1991, the government moved it to Abuja to ease overcrowding and be more central.A capital with no peopleNauru, a tiny island country in the Pacific Ocean, has no official capital city. Instead, government buildings are simply located in a district called Yaren.The youngest capital citySouth Sudan’s capital, Juba, became official in 2011 when the country gained independence. Plans are under way to build an entirely new capital called Ramciel.The city that refuses to be called ‘capital’Switzerland doesn’t officially have a capital. But Bern is often treated as one, because it houses the federal government.
