A capital city is the official seat of a country's government . It is where the head of state lives and where laws are made. A capital is not always the biggest or most famous city in a country — it is simply the one that has been chosen as the centre of government . This is a very common mix-up , so it is worth remembering carefully .
✨ Australia's capital is Canberra , not Sydney . When the states of Australia joined together in 1901, they could not agree between Sydney and Melbourne , so they built a brand-new city exactly between them!
📷 Dietmar Rabich · CC BY-SA 4.0Australia is not the only surprise . The capital of the United States is Washington , D.C., not the much larger New York . The capital of Canada is Ottawa , not Toronto . The capital of Turkey is Ankara , not Istanbul . In each case the biggest , most famous city is not the one where the government sits , which catches a lot of people out.
🗂️ Sort each city into whether it is its country's capital or not.
Is the capital Famous but NOT the capital
Is the capital Famous but NOT the capital
Is the capital Famous but NOT the capital
Is the capital Famous but NOT the capital
Capital cities tend to be important centres of culture , history , and transport . Many have famous landmarks — the Eiffel Tower in Paris , the Colosseum in Rome , or the Kremlin in Moscow . Visiting a capital city is often a great way to learn about a country's past , because so much of its history happened there.
📷 Diliff · CC BY-SA 2.5🔗 Match each country to its capital city.
Pretoria (executive capital) Brasília Tokyo Paris
Pretoria (executive capital) Brasília Tokyo Paris
Pretoria (executive capital) Brasília Tokyo Paris
Pretoria (executive capital) Brasília Tokyo Paris
💡 A useful trick : when you learn a country , look up its capital straight away . Linking the two together in your mind makes both easier to remember .
🔗 Match each capital city to a landmark you can find there.
Big Ben The Kremlin The Colosseum The Eiffel Tower
Big Ben The Kremlin The Colosseum The Eiffel Tower
Big Ben The Kremlin The Colosseum The Eiffel Tower
Big Ben The Kremlin The Colosseum The Eiffel Tower
Some countries have more than one capital . South Africa has three : Pretoria for the government , Cape Town for parliament , and Bloemfontein for the courts . Bolivia also has two capitals . These arrangements often reflect the history of how countries were formed , sharing power between different regions so that no single city holds it all.
📷 David Kernan · CC BY 4.0✍️ Fill in the capital cities.
The capital of France is _____ . The capital of Japan is _____ . Australia's capital is _____ .
Paris Tokyo Canberra Sydney London
✨ Tokyo is the most populated metropolitan area in the world , home to about 37 million people — more than the entire population of Australia !
