Capital, but not the largest city
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It seems that each of us was surprised to learn at school that the capital of the United States is not New York. Nowadays, perhaps everyone knows that the capital of Australia is Canberra, not Sydney, and Turkey is Ankara, not Istanbul. But today there are 36 states in the world in which it is easy to confuse large cities with capitals.
We are in website We found out something interesting about the 12 most interesting of them and we want you to be surprised too.
This map shows states whose capitals are not the most populous cities in the country. These settlements make up 14% of all capitals in the world.
Switzerland
The first thing that comes to mind when answering the question about the capital of Switzerland is Zurich. The second is Geneva. But the first city is the financial center of the country, the second is considered a diplomatic center. It is noteworthy that Switzerland does not have a documented capital. De facto, as the official seat of the country's government, it was approved city of Bern.
Monaco
Contrary to the popular belief that the capital of this dwarf state is Monte Carlo, the real administrative center of the country is Monaco. To distinguish the name of the principality from the name of the city, it is sometimes called Monaco-Ville (from the French ville - “city”). However, it cannot be called a city either. With a population of just 975 people, Monaco-Ville is a historic district.
Vietnam
Capital of Vietnam - Hanoi, the second largest city in the country with a population of 7.7 million people. The largest city here is Ho Chi Minh City. With a population of 8.4 million, it is also known by its former name Saigon: it was then the capital of the French colony and later of the independent state of South Vietnam. It is noteworthy that former name city is still in use today.
China
"Rio de Janeiro!" - we are in a hurry to show off our erudition. Yes, it was the capital from 1763 to 1960, but now it is not even the largest city in the country, the title of which is held by Sao Paulo with a population of 12 million people. According to the Brazilian Constitution, adopted in 1891, the capital must be a city located in the geographical center of the country. Right here in the city Brasilia, and the capital was moved from Rio.
UAE
Since the establishment of the federation of the United Arab Emirates in 1971 Abu Dhabi had the status of a temporary capital. The constitution of the new state at that time designated a new city for construction, Al-Karama, which was intended to be the capital. However, the proposed city was never built. Since 1966, Abu Dhabi has become the permanent capital of the Emirates. The largest city in the country, as you probably already guessed, is Dubai, its population is 3 million inhabitants.
New Zealand
The fight for the title of the main city of the country lasted for 26 years. The capital moved from Toronto to Quebec and back 4 times alone, until in 1857 Queen Victoria, by a willful decision, appointed Ottawa. Now the capital
In almost all countries of the world, the capital is the largest city. For example, Moscow is approximately 2.4 times larger than St. Petersburg, Kyiv is 2 times larger than Kharkov, Tokyo is 3.5 times larger than Yokohama
But there are countries where the capital is not the largest city.
Australia
Canberra - purpose-built capital since 1913
Population - 358,222 people (2011)
Population - 4.8 million people (2012)
Sydney is 13 times larger than Canberra
Belize
Belmopan - purpose-built capital since 1962
Population - 13,351 people (2010)
Population - 69,474 people (2013)
Belize was the capital from the 17th century until 1970, and remains the de facto capital
Belize is 4.9 times larger than Belmopan
Benin
Porto-Novo
Population - 223,552 (2002)
Population - 761,137 people (2006)
The government is located in Cotonou
Cotonou is 3.4 times larger than Porto-Novo
Bolivia
Sucre (former names Nuevo Toledo, Charcas, La Plata, Chuquisaca)
Population - 295,455 people (2009)
De facto capital (seat of government) in La Paz (887,512 people (2009)
Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Population - 1,529,000 people (2006)
Santa Cruz de la Sierra is 6.2 times larger than Sucre
Brazil
Brasilia - purpose-built capital since 1960
Population - 2,609,997 people (2011)
Until 1960, the capital of the country was Rio de Janeiro (1763 - 1960)
Sao Paulo
Population - 11,316,149 people (2011)
Sao Paulo is 4.3 times larger than Brasilia
India
New Delhi is a district of Delhi, or a city within a city.
Population - 295 thousand people (2011)
Mumbai (called Bombay until 1995)
Population - 12,478,447 people (2011)
Mumbai is 42 times larger than New Delhi
Kazakhstan
Astana (former name Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola)
Population - 780,880 people (2013)
Almaty (former name Alma-Ata)
Population - 1,501,000 people (2013)
Almaty was the capital from 1927 to 1997, today the southern capital of Kazakhstan
Almaty is 1.9 times larger than Astana
Canada
Population - 883,391 people (2011)
Population - 2,615,060 people (2011)
Greater Toronto metropolitan area - 5.715 million people
Toronto is 3 times larger than Ottawa (agglomeration is 6.5 times larger)
Ivory Coast
Yamoussoukro - capital since 1983
Population - 242,744 people (2010)
Population - 3,802,000 people (2007)
Abidjan agglomeration - 5 million people
Abidjan was the capital from 1934 to 1983 and remains the de facto capital
Abidjan is 15.6 times larger than Yamoussoukro (the agglomeration is 20.6 times larger)
Malta
Valletta
Population - 9,000 people (2009)
Birkirkara
Population - 22,232 (2011)
In fact, Valletta and Birkirkara have merged into a single agglomeration
Birkirkara is 2.5 times larger than Valletta
Morocco
Population - 1,622,860 people (2004)
Casablanca
Population - 3,356,337 people (2012)
Casablanca is 2 times larger than Rabat
Monaco
Population - 975 people (2008)
Monte Carlo
Population - 2874 people (2008)
Monte Carlo is almost 3 times larger than Monaco
Myanmar
Nay Pyidaw - capital since 2005
Population - 924,600 people (2009)
Yangon (formerly Rangoon)
Population - 4,477,638 people (2005)
Rangoon was the capital from 1852 to 2005.
Agglomeration - 5,990,318 people
Yangon is 4.8 times larger than Naypyitaw (agglomeration 6.5 times)
Nigeria
Abuja - capital since 1991
Population - 778,567 people (2006)
Population - 7,937,932 (2006)
Lagos was the capital from 1914 to 1991.
Lagos is 10.2 times larger than Abuja
New Zealand
Wellington
Population - 431,400 people (2007)
Population - 1,303,300 people (2009)
Auckland was the capital from 1841 to 1865.
Auckland is 3 times larger than Wellington
United Arab Emirates
Population - 921,000 people (2013)
Population - 2,262,000 people (2008)
Dubai agglomeration - 3,006,000 people
Dubai is 2.5 times larger than Abu Dhabi (agglomeration 3.3 times)
Palau
Ngerulmud - purpose-built capital since 2006
There are 8 villages in the Melekeok state, one of which is Ngerulmud. The population of the entire Melekeok state is 391 people (2005).
Population - 10.5 thousand people (2007)
Koror was the capital of an independent republic from 1981 to 2006.
Koror is about 30 times larger than Ngerulmud
Pakistan
Islamabad has been a purpose-built capital since the late 60s.
Population - 1.152 million (2011)
From 1958 until the end of the 60s, the temporary capital was Rawalpindi
Population - 21.2 million people (2012)
Karachi was the capital from 1947 to 1958.
Karachi is 18.4 times larger than Islamabad
San Marino
San Marino (city)
Population - 4,600 people (2008)
Serravalle
Population - 10,392 people (2010)
Serravalle is 2.3 times larger than San Marino
USA
Washington
Population - 601,723 people (2010)
New York was the capital from 1790 to 1800.
Population - 8,363,710 people (2010)
New York is 13.9 times larger than Washington
Tanzania
Dodoma - capital since 1993
Population - 324,347 people (2002)
Dar es Salaam
Population - 4,364,541 people (2012)
Dar es Salaam was the capital from 1890 to 1996 and remains the de facto capital
Dar es Salaam is 13.5 times larger than Dodoma
Switzerland
Population - 133,868 people (2012)
Agglomeration - 353,300 people (2010)
Population - 391,068 people (2012)
Agglomeration - 1,188,600 people (2010)
Zurich is 2.9 times larger than Bern (agglomeration 3.4 times)
Sri Lanka
Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte - capital since 1982
Population - 115,826 people (2008)
Population - 672,743 people (2007)
Colombo is 5.8 times larger than Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
In fact, the capital of Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is part of the Colombo agglomeration
South Africa
Pretoria
Population - 2,345,908 people (2007)
Johannesburg
Population - 4,434,827 people (2011)
Agglomeration -7,860,781 people (2011)
Johannesburg is 1.9 times larger than Pretoria (the agglomeration is 3.4 times larger)
Little difference between the largest city and the capital
Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City is 1.2 times larger than Hanoi
China - Shanghai is 1.2 times larger than Beijing
Liechtenstein - Schaan is 1.1 times larger than Vaduz
Türkiye - Istanbul is 1.3 times larger than Ankara
Ecuador - Guayaquil is 1.4 times larger than Quito