Capital

Alternate uses: capital (economics) and capital (disambiguation)

The capital city or political capital of a country or other political entity is the city or town that contains the seat of government.

Historically, it was also the place where the various economic forms of capital were concentrated for easier protection - the origin of the use of the term in economics.

A country may have more than one official capital at any given point in time. It may be separate from the actual seat of government or move about seasonally. Different branches of government may be centered in different cities.

• Lists of capitals: by name, by country (with also the largest city), by continent and country
• List of capitals of subnational entities

See also: county town, county seat, borough seat.

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Political capital also refers to the goodwill that a government or politician has stored. By building up political capital by pursuing popular policies, a politician can then support unpopular policies yet have enough popular support to remain in office.

see social capital