Which Country Has No Capital City?

A capital city has traditionally been the seat of a nation's government—site of official buildings, parliament, and ministries. Nearly every independent nation has such a city. But there's an intriguing exception to the world geography: Nauru.

Nauru: The World's Only Country Without a Capital

Nauru, a small Pacific island nation, is the only country in the world with no officially declared capital city. It does not have a defined capital in either law or convention like other nations.

Nauru is the third smallest country in terms of area (only 21 square kilometers) and second smallest country in terms of population.

Its governmental buildings—parliament, presidential compound, courts—are mostly situated in Yaren district. But Yaren has not been constitutionally declared as the capital; it is sometimes called the "de facto capital" because of its administrative function, but this position has never been formally bestowed.

Why Doesn't Nauru Have a Capital?

• Size of the Country: Nauru's total land area is so minute that it makes no sense to divide it up into cities or towns. The country is organized into districts, not cities.
• Administrative Convenience: The government simply functions from wherever it's most convenient—Yaren, in close proximity to the airport and central facilities. The absence of formal proclamation is much a technicality with minimal effect on everyday life.
• Identity and History: Until recently, "Pleasant Island" was the name Nauru went by. It has maintained its individuality, even taking this singularity to the organization of its government.

How Does Governance Work?

Yaren District is home to the seat of government, parliament house, and ministries.

Practically for all purposes—such as communication, diplomacy, or cartography—Yaren serves as the capital.

International institutions and embassies utilize the facilities of Yaren.

Are There Other Similar Countries?

Certain microstates and city-states technically muddle the definition:

Vatican City and Monaco both include a single city and, by some definitions, may be said to have the whole country as its capital.

Still, these are officially classed as city-states and accepted as such; only Nauru is officially not to have a capital city status.

Nauru's position as a non-capital nation is a fun fact geography enthusiasts and trivia buffs just will love. It speaks to the way definitions—city, capital, state—are not always so simple, particularly in the planet's smallest and most unusual nations.

Nauru is the world's lone country without an official capital city.

Its de facto administrative capital is Yaren, but no law or constitution makes it so—a suitable anomaly of the Pacific's smallest republic.