All 49 Asian Capital Cities — Complete Geography Guide

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, home to 49 countries and an extraordinary diversity of cultures, languages, and geographies. From the massive urban sprawl of Tokyo and Beijing to the remote mountain capitals of Central Asia, Asian capitals are among the most varied on Earth. This guide covers all 49 by subregion, with the key facts you need for geography quizzes and Capitalle.

East Asia (6 capitals)

Beijing (China) — The capital of the world's most populous country (1.4 billion people). Beijing has been China's capital for most of the past 700 years and is home to about 22 million people in its administrative area, including the Forbidden City and Tiananmen Square.

Tokyo (Japan) — The world's largest metropolitan area by population, with over 37 million people in the greater metro area. Technically the capital is the Tokyo Metropolis, centered on the special ward area with about 14 million. Japan's economic, cultural, and political center.

Seoul (South Korea) — Home to about 9.7 million people in the city and 25 million in the Seoul Capital Area, which houses roughly half of South Korea's entire population in one urban region.

Pyongyang (North Korea) — One of the world's most secretive capitals, Pyongyang is a showcase city built to project the power of the North Korean state. Population estimates vary widely but are typically around 3-4 million.

Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia) — The world's coldest national capital, Ulaanbaatar sits at 1,350 metres elevation and experiences temperatures as low as -40°C in winter. About 45% of Mongolia's entire population lives in this one city.

Taipei (Taiwan) — Capital of Taiwan (officially the Republic of China), with about 2.7 million residents. Taiwan's political status is a subject of ongoing international dispute with the People's Republic of China.

Southeast Asia (11 capitals)

Bangkok (Thailand) — The official name of Bangkok is the longest city name in the world (169 characters in Thai). Home to about 10.7 million people, Bangkok is Southeast Asia's dominant commercial hub.

Hanoi (Vietnam) — Vietnam's capital in the north, distinct from Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) in the south. Hanoi has been a settlement for over 1,000 years and has about 5 million residents in the city area.

Phnom Penh (Cambodia) — Located at the confluence of four rivers including the Mekong, Phnom Penh has grown rapidly since the end of the Khmer Rouge era. Population of about 2.2 million.

Vientiane (Laos) — One of the least-known Asian capitals, Vientiane is a quietly laid-back city of about 820,000 on the Mekong River, across from Thailand. Among the smallest capitals of a major Asian nation.

Naypyidaw (Myanmar) — Myanmar moved its capital from Yangon to Naypyidaw in 2005-2006 for strategic and political reasons. Naypyidaw is a vast, purpose-built city with enormous empty roads and very low street-level activity despite its official status.

Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) — Malaysia's capital and largest city, home to the Petronas Towers (the world's tallest buildings from 1998 to 2004). Population of about 1.8 million in the city proper.

Singapore (Singapore) — Unique among capitals: Singapore is simultaneously a city, a capital, and a country. The entire island-city-state has a population of about 5.9 million and is one of the world's wealthiest economies per capita.

Jakarta (Indonesia) — Note: Indonesia has been in the process of moving its capital to the new city of Nusantara on Borneo island, though Jakarta remains the de facto capital during the transition. Jakarta has a metropolitan population exceeding 30 million.

Manila (Philippines) — Strictly speaking, the Philippines' capital is Manila, though Metro Manila and the National Capital Region are collectively the urban and administrative center. The metro area has about 14 million people.

Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei) — The capital of the oil-rich Sultanate of Brunei, a tiny nation on the island of Borneo. The city has about 140,000 residents and is famous for its opulent mosques.

Dili (East Timor / Timor-Leste) — Capital of one of the world's newest countries, which gained independence from Indonesia in 2002. Dili has a population of about 280,000.

South Asia (8 capitals)

New Delhi (India) — India's capital is technically New Delhi, which is a district within the larger Delhi urban area. The Delhi National Capital Territory has about 32 million residents, making it one of the world's largest urban areas.

Islamabad (Pakistan) — Built from scratch in the 1960s to replace Karachi as capital. Islamabad is a planned city with about 1.2 million residents, though nearby Rawalpindi forms a continuous urban area.

Dhaka (Bangladesh) — One of the world's most densely populated cities, Dhaka has a population of about 23 million in the metro area. Bangladesh's capital is also one of the world's fastest-growing cities.

Kathmandu (Nepal) — Situated in a valley in the Himalayas at 1,400 metres elevation, Kathmandu is the gateway to the highest mountain region on Earth. Population of about 1.4 million.

Thimphu (Bhutan) — One of the smaller Asian capitals, Thimphu has about 115,000 residents. Bhutan is famous for measuring national success by Gross National Happiness rather than GDP.

Colombo (Sri Lanka) — Often considered the capital, but Sri Lanka's official legislative capital is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, a suburb of Colombo. Colombo itself is the commercial capital with about 750,000 residents.

Malé (Maldives) — One of the most densely populated cities on Earth, Malé is a tiny island measuring only 2 km by 1 km yet housing about 240,000 people. The Maldives is the lowest-lying country in the world and highly vulnerable to sea level rise.

Kabul (Afghanistan) — High-altitude capital at 1,800 metres, Kabul has a history stretching back over 3,500 years. The city has a population of about 4.4 million despite decades of conflict.

Central Asia (5 capitals)

Astana (Kazakhstan) — Kazakhstan's purpose-built capital (formerly called Nur-Sultan, and before that Akmola) has gone through multiple name changes. Built on the Kazakh steppe from the mid-1990s, it has a futuristic skyline and about 1.2 million residents.

Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) — Situated at the foot of the Tian Shan mountains, Bishkek has about 1 million residents and is known for its Soviet-era architecture and access to spectacular mountain scenery.

Dushanbe (Tajikistan) — Tajikistan's capital with about 1 million residents. The word "Dushanbe" means Monday in Tajik, as the city grew from a Monday market town.

Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) — One of the world's most unusual capitals under the authoritarian Turkmen government. Ashgabat holds Guinness World Records for the most white marble buildings in a city, with a population of about 1.1 million.

Tashkent (Uzbekistan) — Central Asia's largest city with about 2.7 million residents. Tashkent was heavily damaged by an earthquake in 1966 and largely rebuilt in the Soviet style. Uzbekistan is one of the world's two doubly landlocked countries.

West Asia (19 capitals)

Ankara (Turkey) — A critical Capitalle trap: Istanbul is not Turkey's capital. Ankara was designated the capital by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1923 as part of the modernization of Turkey. Population of about 5.7 million.

Tehran (Iran) — Iran's capital since 1796, Tehran has a population of about 9.5 million in the city and 16 million in the metro area. Situated at the foot of the Alborz Mountains with Mount Damavand visible on clear days.

Baghdad (Iraq) — One of the great historical capitals of the Islamic Golden Age, Baghdad was the center of the Abbasid Caliphate. Today it has about 7.7 million residents.

Riyadh (Saudi Arabia) — The capital of the world's largest exporter of oil, Riyadh has grown from a small desert town to a city of about 7.6 million in just decades.

Kuwait City (Kuwait) — A wealthy city-state capital on the Persian Gulf, Kuwait City has about 4.2 million in the greater urban area. Oil wealth has transformed it from a pearl diving village to a modern metropolis.

Manama (Bahrain) — The capital of Bahrain, a small island nation in the Persian Gulf with about 700,000 residents. Bahrain is one of the world's smallest island nations.

Doha (Qatar) — The capital of the oil and gas-rich state of Qatar, which hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Population of about 2.4 million, the vast majority of which are expatriate workers.

Abu Dhabi (UAE) — The capital of the United Arab Emirates (not Dubai, which is larger but not the capital). Abu Dhabi has about 1.5 million residents and holds most of the UAE's oil reserves.

Muscat (Oman) — A spread-out, low-density capital on the Gulf of Oman, Muscat has about 1.7 million residents. Known for its strict building codes that limit height and require traditional architectural styles.

Sanaa (Yemen) — One of the oldest inhabited cities in the world, Sanaa has been settled for over 2,500 years. The ongoing conflict in Yemen has severely impacted the city, which has about 3.9 million residents.

Amman (Jordan) — Jordan's capital of about 4.2 million, built across a series of hills (originally seven, like Rome). Amman is a relatively modern city in historic terms, growing significantly in the 20th century.

Damascus (Syria) — Often cited as one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus has been settled for at least 11,000 years. Population estimates for the war-affected city are uncertain but were about 2 million pre-conflict.

Beirut (Lebanon) — Once called the "Paris of the Middle East," Beirut has about 2.4 million residents in the metro area. The city has experienced repeated cycles of war and rebuilding.

Jerusalem (Israel) — One of the most contested capitals in the world. Israel designates Jerusalem as its capital, but international recognition is complicated by the city's disputed status. Population of about 970,000.

Nicosia (Cyprus) — The divided capital of Cyprus, split since 1974. (Also listed under European capitals as Cyprus's status spans both continental classifications.)

Yerevan (Armenia) — Listed in Eastern Europe section but geographically in the South Caucasus, on the border of Europe and Asia.

Tbilisi (Georgia) — Similarly transcaucasian.

Baku (Azerbaijan) — Also transcaucasian but frequently categorized as West Asian.

Ramallah (Palestinian Authority) — The administrative capital of the Palestinian Authority, with a population of about 40,000 in the city.

Tips for Asian Capitals in Capitalle

Asia is so geographically vast that a guess in the Middle East and a guess in East Asia might both be in "Asia" but separated by 8,000 km. When playing Capitalle, treat Asia as three distinct zones for distance purposes: West Asia (Middle East), South and Central Asia, and East and Southeast Asia. An arrow pointing east from a guess in Saudi Arabia could land anywhere from India to Japan — the continent is too large for regional hints to be precise without multiple guesses.

The trickiest Asian capitals for quiz players are: Ankara (not Istanbul), Astana (recently renamed multiple times), Naypyidaw (Myanmar's new capital), Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (Sri Lanka), Abu Dhabi (not Dubai), and Dili (East Timor, a very new country). Practice these specifically with Earthle to build the shape recognition that helps locate these countries.