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In politics a capital (also called capital city or political capital — although the latter phrase has an alternative meaning based on an alternative meaning of " capital") is the principal city or town associated with its government. It is almost always the city which physically encompasses the offices and meeting places of the seat of government and fixed by law. The word capital is derived from the Latin caput meaning "head," and possibly related to Capitolinus, the tallest hill in Ancient Rome and that city's religious and historic center.

The seats of government in major substate jurisdictions are usually called capitals, but at lower administrative subdivisions, terms such as county town, county seat, or borough seat are also used.

A number of cases exist where states or other entities have multiple capitals. In South Africa, for example, the administrative capital is PretoriaPretoria is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the executive (administrative) capital; it is situated in the province of Gauteng. Cape Town is the legislative capital and Bloemfontein the judicial capital. It is a very pleasant and cos, the legislative capital is Cape TownCape Town ( Afrikaans: Kaapstad , is one of South Africa's three capital cities serving as the legislative capital ( Pretoria being the executive capital and Bloemfontein the judicial capital). It is also the capital of the Western Cape province. It is mo, and the judicial capital is BloemfonteinBloemfontein lit. fountain of flowers), is one of South Africa's three capital cities serving as the judicial capital ( Pretoria being the executive capital and Cape Town the legislative capital). It also serves as the capital of the Free State province., the outcome of the compromise that created the Union of South AfricaThe Union of South Africa came into being on May 31, 1910 when the old Cape Colony and Natal Colony were combined with the defeated South African Republic and Orange Free State (renamed the Orange River Colony) after the Boer War. The various parts were t in 1910Events January events January 13 The first live musical radio program. Lee De Forest broadcasts a live performance of Enrico Caruso from the Metropolitan Opera. January 26 ? Seine floods in Paris. February events February 8 The Boy Scouts of America is in.

In others, the "effective" and "official" capital may differ for pragmatic reasons, resulting in a situation where a city known as "the capital" is not, in fact, host to the seat of government:

• YamoussoukroYamoussoukro a town of 100,000 inhabitants located 240 kilometers North of Abidjan, is the administrative capital of Cote d'Ivoire. Colonial period history Queen Yamousso, the niece of Kouassi N'Go, ran the village of N'Gokro at the time of French coloniz was designated the national capital of Côte d'IvoireThe Republic of Cote d'Ivoire ( French for Ivory Coast by which it is often rendered in English) is a country in West Africa. It borders Liberia, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, and Ghana to the west, north, and east, and borders the Gulf of Guinea to its sou in 1983Events January January 1 Beat Raaflaub became Basel Boys Choir's new conductor January 1 the ARPANET officially changes to use the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet. January 1 compulsory wearing of seat belts becomes law in the UK. January 2 The mu, but as of 2004 most government offices and embassies were still located in Abidjan
• Sucre is still the constitutional capital of Bolivia, but most of the national government long abandoned that region for La Paz
• Amsterdam is the nominal national capital of The Netherlands even though the Dutch government, head of state and supreme court are all located in The Hague.

In such cases, the city housing the administrative capital is usually understood to be the "national capital" among outsiders. For instance, Santiago is understood to be the capital of Chile even though its Congress is in Valparaiso.

As the focal point of power for the region or country, the capital naturally attracts the politically motivated and those whose skills are needed for efficient administration of government such as lawyers, journalists, and public policy researchers. Older capitals have often developed into prime economic, cultural, or intellectual centers as well. Such is certainly the case with Paris, France and Buenos Aires, Argentina among national capitals, and Irkutsk or Salt Lake City, Utah in their regions. Yet such concentration may be controversial. The siting of Brasilia in Brazil's heartland was done in part to represent the government's separation from the crowded and corrupt old capital, Rio de Janeiro. The government of South Korea announced in 2004 it would move its capital from Seoul to Yeongi-Gongju — even though the word "Seoul" itself means capital in the Korean language.

The convergence of political and economic or cultural power is by no means universal. Traditional capitals may be economically eclipsed by provincial rivals, as occurred with Thebes by Alexandria, Nanjing by Shanghai, or Edinburgh by Glasgow. The decline of a dynasty or culture could mean the extinction of its capital city as well, as occurred with Babylon and Cahokia. And many modern capital cities, such as Abuja and Ottawa, were deliberately fixed outside existing economic areas and have not established themselves as new commercial or industrial hubs since.