MOST countries across the world choose one city to be be their capital.
Eleven countries have chosen to double up – but which country chose to have three? Here’s all you need to know…
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What country has three capital cities?
South Africa is the only country in the world to have three capital cities.
The three capitals are Pretoria, Cape Town and Bloemfontein.
Why does South Africa have three capital cities?
South Africa’s unique arrangement was designed to ensure that power was shared equally across the country.
Cape Town was the capital of Britain’s Cape Colony.
It still remains as the legislative capital of the country.
However a decision was made to divide up the remaining branches of government between Pretoria and Bloemfontein.
This helped to distribute power across the emerging Republic of South Africa.
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Which other countries have more than one capital city?
Netherlands – Amsterdam and The Hague
Montenegro – Podgorica and Cetinje
Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya
Kingdom of eSwatini – Mbabane and Lobamba
Czech Republic – Prague and Brno
Côte D’Ivoire – Yamoussoukro and Abidjan
Chile – Santiago and Valparaíso
Bolivia – La Paz and Sucre
Sri Lanka – Colombo and Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte
Benin – Porto-Novo and Cotonou
Tanzania – Dar es Salaam and Dodoma
