Uniquely among the world's nations, which country has three separate capital cities — one executive, one legislative, and one judicial?
- Bolivia
- South Africa
- Netherlands
- Sri Lanka
Why B? And why not the others?
Correct answer: B. South Africa
South Africa is the only country with three official capitals: Pretoria (executive, home to the government and foreign embassies), Cape Town (legislative, seat of Parliament), and Bloemfontein (judicial, seat of the Supreme Court of Appeal). This split dates to the 1910 Act of Union, when the four former British colonies could not agree on a single capital and divided the functions among their rival cities as a political compromise. Bolivia comes closest among the alternatives with two capitals — La Paz for the seat of government, Sucre for the judiciary — but that is only two seats, not three. The Netherlands likewise splits functions between two cities, with Amsterdam as the constitutional capital while The Hague houses the government, parliament, and courts. Sri Lanka's government sits in Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte while Colombo remains the commercial hub, again only two centres rather than three.
Source: Britannica: South Africa (Pretoria, Cape Town, Bloemfontein as administrative, legislative and judicial capitals); CIA World Factbook: South Africa