List of purpose-built national capitals
This is a list of capital cities that were built from the ground up to be national or regional capitals, rather than being a pre-existing city chosen to be the capital.
National
| City | Land | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Abuja |  Nigeria
|
from 1991, moved from Lagos in order to provide a capital city that was a mix of the three major ethnic groups, the Yoruba, Igbo, and Hausa-Fulani. Other reasons include more central geographic location and to avoid overcrowded Lagos. |
| Ayutthaya | Ayutthaya Kingdom (Thailand) | founded 1350 |
| Beijing | Yuan Dynasty China | Old Beijing (called Zhongdu) burned to ground by Mongols in 1215. A new city, Khanbaliq ("Dadu" in Chinese), the future Beijing, was built nearby as a Mongol capital in 1267, as prelude to Mongol establishment of the Yuan Dynasty in China. The Yuan were forced to move their capital to Karakorum in Mongolia in 1368 as their dynasty ended in China; China's capital moved to Nanjing as the Ming Dynasty started. It returned to Beijing in 1420, and the city remained the capital of China (under the Ming and Qing Dynasties and the Republic of China) until again the capital moved to Nanjing in 1928; it returned to the city in 1949 with the establishment of the Peoples Republic of China. See Historical capitals of China. |
| Belmopan |  British Honduras
|
from 1970, moved from Belize City when a hurricane completely destroyed the city. |
| Brasília |  Brasilien
|
from 1960, moved from Rio de Janeiro because of overcrowding and to encourage inland growth. |
| Canberra |  Australien
|
from 1927, moved from temporary capital at Melbourne from 1901. Site has to be in New South Wales state, but at least 200 miles from capital of that state (currently Sydney). |
| Fujiwara-kyō |  Japan
|
from 694, moved from Asuka; moved to Nara in 710 |
| Islamabad |  Pakistan
|
from 1967, moved from Rawalpindi |
| Karlsruhe | Baden-Durlach (a German state) | from 1715, moved from Durlach; became capital of unified Baden in 1771; remained capital of state of Baden after joining unified Germany in 1871; ceased being capital in 1945 |
| Kyoto | Japan
|
from 794, moved from Nagaokakyō; moved to Tokyo around 1868 (see article capital of Japan) |
| Lima |  Viceroyalty of Peru
|
from 1535. Cusco was the capital of the precedent Inca Empire |
| Mandalay |  Myanmar
|
Built in 1852 by Mindon Min, it was the last royal capital of the Burmese Konbaung Kingdom. The site was chosen in accordance to a supposed prophecy by the Buddha. Mandalay is now the second largest city in Myanmar, and is one of Myanmar's five capitals during a two century span. |
| Melekeok |  Palau
|
from 2006, moved from Koror |
| Naypyidaw | Myanmar
|
from 2005, moved from Yangon to have their military government more centrally located geographically and "to keep an eye" on rebel groups forming and training for coups in the jungles and away from the political activities of Yangon |
| New Delhi |  Indien
|
from 1912, moved from Calcutta; note that the neighboring city of Dehli already existed and had previously served as the capital of the Mughal Empire |
| Nouakchott |  Mauretanien
|
from 1958, moved from Saint-Louis, Senegal |
| Putrajaya |  Malaysia
|
from 2002, the administrative branch moved from Kuala Lumpur. However, Kuala Lumpur remains the official capital. |
| Quezon City |  Philippinen
|
from 1948, moved from Manila; returned to Manila in 1976 |
| Saint Petersburg |  Russland
|
from 1712, moved from Moscow; returned to Moscow in 1918 |
| Valletta |  Malta
|
from 1566, moved from Mdina (then known as Città Notabile) |
| Washington, DC |  Vereinigte Staaten
|
from 1800, moved from Philadelphia |
Subnational
| City | Capital of | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Adelaide | South Australia, Australien
|
founded 1836 |
| Belo Horizonte | Minas Gerais,  Brasilien
|
founded 1897, moved from Ouro Preto |
| Brisbane | Queensland, Australien
|
founded 1824 |
| Chandigarh | both Punjab and Haryana,  Indien
|
from 1947, because partition of India placed Punjab's capital, Lahore, in Pakistan; Haryana created out of part of Indian Punjab in 1966 and shares capital |
| Changwon | Gyeongsangnam-do (South Gyeongsang),  Südkorea
|
from 1983, moved from Busan |
| Columbia | South Carolina,  Vereinigte Staaten
|
from 1790, moved from Charleston |
| Columbus | Ohio, Vereinigte Staaten
|
from 1816, moved from Chillicothe |
| Gandhinagar | Gujarat, Indien
|
founded 1960 upon split of Bombay State into two states |
| Goiânia |  Goiás, Brasilien
|
from 1933, moved from Goiás Velho |
| Indianapolis | Indiana,  Vereinigte Staaten
|
from 1825, moved from Corydon |
| Jackson | Mississippi,  Vereinigte Staaten
|
from 1821, moved from Natchez |
| Jefferson City | Missouri, Vereinigte Staaten
|
from 1826, moved from St. Charles |
| Jhongsing Village | Taiwan Province,  Republic of China (Taiwan)
|
from 1956, moved from Taipei City |
| Lansing | Michigan,  Vereinigte Staaten
|
from 1847, moved from Detroit |
| La Plata | Buenos Aires Province,  Argentinien
|
from 1882, moved from Buenos Aires |
| Madison | Wisconsin,  Vereinigte Staaten
|
from 1838, moved from Burlington, now part of Iowa |
| Magas |  Ingushetia, Russland
|
from 2002, moved from Nazran |
| Milledgeville | Georgien, Vereinigte Staaten
|
from 1807, moved from Louisville; briefly moved to Macon in 1864, then back; moved to Atlanta in 1868 |
| Palayan City | Nueva Ecija, Philippinen
|
from 1965, moved from Cabanatuan City; Cabanatuan City retains the old provincial capitol and is still used by the provincial government |
| Palmas |  Tocantins, Brasilien
|
founded 1990 as capital of the new state of Tocatins, formed in 1988 |
| Perth | Western Australia, Australien
|
founded in 1829 as the capital of the Swan River Colony, which, several years later, was enlarged and renamed Western Australia |
| Pierre | South Dakota,  Vereinigte Staaten
|
from 1889 when the Dakota Territory divided into North and South Dakota and gained statehood, moved from then territorial capital Bismarck, North Dakota which, by default, became state capital of North Dakota. Previous territorial capital before Bismarck was Yankton, South Dakota from 1861-1883. |
| Raleigh | North Carolina, Vereinigte Staaten
|
from 1794, moved from New Bern |
| Sapporo | Hokkaidō, Japan
|
from the early 1870s, moved from Hakodate |
| Savannah | Georgien,  Vereinigte Staaten
|
founded 1733 as capital of new Georgia colony; remained capital until 1777 and was briefly again in 1782 and 1784-6 |
| Shah Alam |  Selangor, Malaysia
|
from 1978, moved from Kuala Lumpur when the latter became a Federal Territory |
| Tallahassee | Florida, Vereinigte Staaten
|
from 1824, from Pensacola and St. Augustine |
| Teresina | Piauí,  Brasilien
|
from 1852, moved from Oeiras |
| Trece Martires City | Cavite, Philippinen
|
from 1954, moved from Cavite City; still the seat of the provincial government despite the capital having transferred to Imus. |
| Victoria | British Columbia,  Kanada
|
nearby Fort Victoria had existed earlier, but in 1849 the town was specifically laid out to be the capital of the new Colony of Vancouver Island; became capital of United Colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia in 1866 when united with the mainland; remained capital after British Columbia became Canadian province in 1871 |
 | This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. |