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Your New Travel GuideWelcome to World Capital Cities! On the right, you'll see the capital city for all the countries of the world. At least, "all", depending on your definition. If you think I've missed any countries and/or capital cities out, please let me know. Several countries in the world actually have two or three capitals! My parents bought me a gigantic world atlas when I was young, and I was fascinated browsing the locations of the thousands of towns and cities in all the world's countries and continents, as well as learning their capitals - a knowledge which inevitably aids in trivia quizes the world over. How many countries are there in the world? I've listed 198 so far, but the exact number depends on who you ask. There are 192 countries that are members of the United Nations, but that's not the whole story. There are three "city-states" in the world - cities that themselves are officially classified as nations in their own right. The most obvious is the Vatican, which seems little more than an ornate building set on a stretch of privately owned land in the centre of Rome, Italy. However, it is part of neither Rome nor Italy. The other two city states will surprise most people. They are the City of London and the City of Columbia. The former is owned by the Corporation of London (a private company) and is physically located in the county of Greater London, England. The latter lies in the heart of Washington DC. However, the City of London is officially neither part of London nor even of England. By the same token, the City of Columbia is part neither of Washington DC nor of the United States of America. So, it's a fascinating fact that when someone claims that Buckingham palace is in London, or that the White House is in America, they are technically wrong. (Look up "city-state" on wikipedia for more information - the article also lists Singapore and Monaco. Singapore is an island with a busy capity city to the south, referred to also as Singapore, with many smaller towns dotted about the island, which technically might be referred to as suburbs within the city-state definition.) In addition, there is Kosovo, which has so far received partial recogition as a country in its own right, having gained independence from Serbia. Also, there is Taiwan, which is an island nation off the coast of the Pacific Rim. Most people wouldn't argue its status as a country... That is, except China, who refuses to accept it as anything but a province, even though it was a member of the UN (and recognised by the Security Council) until 1971. That's politics for you! Lots of countries have more than one capital city. For example, Bolivia's legislative capital is Sucre, but the seat of governmental power lies in La Paz. Some countries have official, administrative and de facto capital cities. As far as I'm aware, no nation has more than three. If you see the word "capitol", don't get it confused with "capital". A capitol building refers to any governmental, specifically legislative building, such as the famous Capitoline Hill in Washington (or should I say, the City of Columbia!), which is named after the ancient Capitoline Hill of Babyon (now in Iraq). On the subject of semantics, the word "State" (with a capital S) is interchangeable with country, whereas "nation", strictly speaking, refers to a large society with a common culture. I personally live in Liverpool, England. I don't class myself as British. And so I shouldn't, because I'm English! This is because England, as a country, has been all but wiped off the map. My dad is Welsh, and his family are proud of their country. And so they should be, as every nation has its own unique character, history and personality. I hope you findWorld Capital Cities a useful resource for finding hotels, flights and information for your travel destination. |
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