Capital cities that were built from scratch

Most capitals grew into the job: they were already the biggest city, the main port or the royal seat. A few countries did the opposite and built a capital on open ground, then moved the government into it. Brasília, Canberra, Islamabad and Abuja are the best known. The most recent is Ciudad de la Paz, which replaced Malabo as the capital of Equatorial Guinea by decree on 2 January 2026.

The reasons repeat. A capital in the middle of the country instead of on the coast, a site that does not favour one region or rival city, or a fresh start after a disaster.

Purpose-built capitals and the city they replaced

Brasília: moving the capital inland

Brazil’s constitution of 1891 already required the capital to move from Rio de Janeiro to the central plateau. It took until the presidency of Juscelino Kubitschek for anyone to do it. Lúcio Costa drew the plan, Oscar Niemeyer designed most of the public buildings, and the city was built in 41 months. It was inaugurated on 21 April 1960 and became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987.

Canberra: a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne

When Australia federated, neither Sydney nor Melbourne would accept the other as capital. The deal was a new city in New South Wales, but at least 100 miles from Sydney. The site was chosen in 1908, and the Chicago architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin won the design competition. Melbourne served as the seat of government until Parliament moved to Canberra in May 1927.

Islamabad and Abuja: closer to the rest of the country

Karachi, Pakistan’s first capital, sits at the southern end of the country. The government wanted a capital easier to reach from every region and further from the business interests of a port city. The Greek planner Constantinos Doxiadis laid out Islamabad on a grid below the Margalla Hills, and it replaced Karachi in 1967, with Rawalpindi acting as a temporary capital in between.

Nigeria made the same move away from Lagos. A decree of 1976 started the process, on the grounds that a central site would be neutral between the country’s main ethnic and religious groups and that Lagos had become overcrowded. Abuja officially took over on 12 December 1991. Kenzo Tange designed its central district.

Belmopan: rebuilding after a hurricane

Hurricane Hattie hit Belize City in 1961 and destroyed about three quarters of its houses and businesses. The government decided to move inland to higher ground about 80 km away. Building began in 1967 and the government moved in 1970. Belmopan is still the smallest capital in the continental Americas by population.

Naypyidaw and Ciudad de la Paz

Myanmar’s military government moved ministries out of Yangon to a new site in the centre of the country on 6 November 2005, and announced the name Naypyidaw the following March.

Ciudad de la Paz, formerly Djibloho or Oyala, is on the mainland of Equatorial Guinea, while Malabo is on the island of Bioko. The Portuguese firm FAT designed it for 160,000 to 200,000 people. Some government bodies began moving in 2017, and the 2026 decree gave the presidency and the state institutions one year to finish the transfer.

Two cases that do not fit neatly

Astana was not built from nothing. Kazakhstan decided in 1994 to move its capital from Almaty to the town then called Akmola, made the move on 10 December 1997, and in 1998 gave Kisho Kurokawa’s plan for a new city across the Ishim River first prize. The city has been called Akmolinsk, Tselinograd, Akmola, Astana, Nur-Sultan from 2019, and Astana again since 2022.

Indonesia passed a law in 2022 to move its capital from Jakarta to Nusantara, a new city in East Kalimantan on Borneo. Building has gone slower than planned. In May 2026 Indonesia’s Constitutional Court ruled that Jakarta remains the capital until a presidential decree transfers the status, so lists of capitals still give Jakarta.

Capitals of the World gives four choices for each country. Capitals on the Map offers none: you find the country yourself and type the city.