Editing Capital city (section)

== Modern capitals ==
[[File:Palace of Westminster from the dome on Methodist Central Hall.jpg|thumb|[[London]], the capital of [[England]] and the [[United Kingdom]], and the largest [[London metropolitan area|metropolitan area]] in [[Western Europe]]]]
[[File:La Tour Eiffel vue de la Tour Saint-Jacques, Paris août 2014 (2).jpg|thumb|[[Paris]], the capital of [[France]], and the largest metropolitan area in the [[European Union]]]]
[[File:Saint Basil's Cathedral and the Red Square.jpg|thumb|[[Moscow]], the capital of [[Russia]], and the former capital of the [[Soviet Union]]]]

Many modern capital cities are located near the centre of the country, so that they are more accessible to its population and have better protection from possible invasions. {{Crossreference|selfref=no|(See also {{Section link|nopage=y||Capitals in military strategy}})}} The location may also be based on a compromise between two or more cities or other political divisions, historical reasons, or enough land was needed to deliberately build a new [[planned city]] for the capital.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-42258989|title=Capital cities: How are they chosen and what do they represent?|website=BBC News|date=6 December 2017|access-date=26 June 2022|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220323205410/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-42258989|archive-date=23 March 2022}}</ref> The majority of national capitals are also the largest city in their respective countries. Modern examples are [[Berlin]], [[Cairo]], [[London]], [[Madrid]], [[Mexico City]], [[Moscow]], [[Paris]], [[Rome]], [[Jakarta]], [[Metro Manila]], [[Seoul]], and [[Tokyo]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Major urban areas - population - The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/major-urban-areas-population/ |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=www.cia.gov}}</ref>

[[Counties of the United Kingdom|Counties]] in the [[United Kingdom]] have historic county towns, which are often not the largest settlement within the county and often are no longer administrative centres, as many historical counties are now only ceremonial, and administrative boundaries are different. The number of new capitals in the world increased substantially since the [[Renaissance]] period, especially with the founding of independent nation-states since the eighteenth century.<ref>''Berlin – Washington, 1800–2000: Capital Cities, Cultural Representation, and National Identities'', ed. [[Andreas Daum]] and Christof Mauch. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2006, {{ISBN|978-0-521-84117-7}}, pp. 4–7.</ref>

In [[Canada]], there is a [[Ottawa|federal capital]], while the ten [[provinces of Canada|provinces]] and three [[Territories of Canada#Territories|territories]] each have capital cities. The states of such countries as [[Mexico]], [[Brazil]] (including the famous cities of [[Rio de Janeiro]] and [[São Paulo]], capitals of their respective states), and [[Australia]] also each have capital cities. For example, the six state capitals of Australia are [[Adelaide]], [[Brisbane]], [[Hobart]], [[Melbourne]], [[Perth]], and [[Sydney]]. In Australia, the term "capital cities" is regularly used to refer to those six state capitals plus the federal capital [[Canberra]], and [[Darwin, Northern Territory|Darwin]], the capital of the [[Northern Territory]]. [[Abu Dhabi]] is the capital city of the [[Emirate of Abu Dhabi]] and also of the [[United Arab Emirates]] overall.

In unitary states which consist of multiple constituent nations, such as the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[Kingdom of Denmark]], each will usually have its own capital city. Unlike in [[federation]]s, there is usually not a separate national capital, but rather the capital city of one constituent nation will also be the capital of the state overall, such as [[London]], which is the capital of [[England]] and of the United Kingdom. Similarly, each of the [[autonomous communities of Spain]] and [[regions of Italy]] has a capital city, such as [[Seville]] and [[Naples]], while [[Madrid]] is the capital of the [[Community of Madrid]] and of the [[Kingdom of Spain]] as a whole and [[Rome]] is the capital of [[Italy]] and of the region of [[Lazio]].

In the [[Germany|Federal Republic of Germany]], each of its constituent [[Federated state|state]]s (or [[States of Germany|''Länder'']], plural of ''Land'') has its own capital city, such as [[Dresden]], [[Wiesbaden]], [[Mainz]], [[Düsseldorf]], [[Stuttgart]], and [[Munich]], as do all of the republics of the [[Russian Federation]]. The national capitals of Germany and Russia (the [[City-state#Non-sovereign city-states|Stadtstaat]] of [[Berlin]] and the [[Federal cities of Russia|federal city]] of [[Moscow]]) are also constituent states of both countries in their own right. Each of the [[states of Austria]] and [[cantons of Switzerland]] also have their own capital cities. [[Vienna]], the national capital of [[Austria]], is also one of the states, while [[Bern]] is the (''de facto'') capital of both [[Switzerland]] and of the [[Canton of Bern]].