Capital Districts and Territories Information

A capital territory In international politics, a territory is a non-sovereign geographic area which has come under the authority of another government; which has not been granted the powers of self-government normally devolved to secondary territorial divisions; or both or capital district Districts are a type of administrative division, in some countries managed by a local government. They vary greatly in size, spanning entire regions or counties, several municipalities, or subdivisions of municipalities is normally a specially designated administrative division Administrative divisions are divisions of a political division. In other words, they are designated portions of a country. They are also called subnational entities. They are each granted a certain degree of autonomy, and are required to manage themselves through their own local governments. Countries are divided up into these smaller units to where a country A country is a geographical region considered to be the physical territory of a sovereign state, or to a smaller, or former, political division within a geographical region. Usually, but not always, a country coincides with a sovereign territory and is associated with a state, nation or government's seat of government A government is the organization, or agency through which a political unit exercises its authority, controls and administers public policy, and directs and controls the actions of its members or subjects is located. As such, in the federal A federation , also known as a federal state,EKAS.gee is a type of sovereign state characterized by a union of partially self-governing states or regions united by a central (federal) government. In a federation, the self-governing status of the component states is typically constitutionally entrenched and may not be altered by a unilateral model of government, no one state A federated state is a territorial and constitutional community forming part of a federal union. Such states differ from sovereign states, in that they have transferred a portion of their sovereign powers to a federal government. A federated state holds administrative jurisdiction over a defined geographic territory and is a form of regional or territory takes pre-eminence because the national capital A capital city is the area of a country, province, region, or state, regarded as enjoying primary status; although there are exceptions, a capital is almost always a city which physically encompasses the offices and meeting places of the seat of government and is fixed by law. An alternate term is political capital, but this phrase has a second lies within its borders Borders define geographic boundaries of political entities or legal jurisdictions, such as governments, sovereign states, federated states and other subnational entities. Some borders—such as a state's internal administrative borders, or inter-state borders within the Schengen Area—are open and completely unguarded. Other borders are partially.^{[clarification needed]}. A capital territory can be a specific form of federal district Federal districts are a type of administrative division of a federation, under the direct control of a federal government. They exist in various countries.

A distinction should be made from administrative divisions which include national capitals, but have no special designated status legally (for example, Île de France Île-de-France is one of the twenty-six administrative regions of France, composed mostly of the Paris metropolitan area. Its name literally means "Island of France", maybe from ancient Frankish Liddle Franke, "little France" has no distinct quality from other regions of France France (pronounced /ˈfrænts/ frantss or /ˈfrɑːnts/ frahnts; French pronunciation (help·info): [fʁɑ̃s]), officially the French Republic (French: République française, pronounced: [ʁepyblik fʁɑ̃sɛz]), is a state in Western Europe with several of its overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian,). Some federal countries (like Belgium Belgium (pronounced /ˈbɛldʒəm/ , BEL-jəm), officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO. Belgium covers an area of 30,528 square kilometres (11,787 sq mi), and it has a), give their national capitals the status as full, equal federal units.

Two national capitals are neither federal units, special capital districts, nor capitals of federal units: Ottawa Ottawa ( /ˈɒtəwə/ or sometimes /ˈɒtəwɑː/) is the capital of Canada, a municipality and the second largest city within the province of Ontario. Located in the Ottawa Valley in the eastern portion of Southern Ontario, the city lies on the southern banks of the Ottawa River, a major waterway forming the local boundary between the provinces, the capital of Canada The land occupied by Canada was inhabited for millennia by various groups of Aboriginal peoples. Beginning in the late 15th century, British and French expeditions explored, and later settled, along the Atlantic coast. France ceded nearly all of its colonies in North America in 1763 after the Seven Years' War. In 1867, with the union of three, and Palikir, the capital of the Federated States of Micronesia The Federated States of Micronesia /ˌmaɪkroʊˈniːʒə/ is an independent, sovereign island nation, made up of four states from west to east: Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae. It comprises approximately 607 small islands in the Western Pacific spread over almost 1,700 miles (2,700 km) longitudinally just north of the equator some 2,500 miles (4,00. The Canadian government does designate the Ottawa area as the National Capital Region The National Capital Region is an official federal designation for the Canadian capital of Ottawa, Ontario, and neighbouring Gatineau, Quebec, and the surrounding area. The National Capital Region consists of an area of 5,319 square kilometres that straddles the boundary between the provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The area of the National Capital, although this term merely represents the jurisdictional area of the government agency that administers federally-owned lands and buildings, and is not an actual administrative unit.

The following have a special administrative district or territory for their national capital A capital city is the area of a country, province, region, or state, regarded as enjoying primary status; although there are exceptions, a capital is almost always a city which physically encompasses the offices and meeting places of the seat of government and is fixed by law. An alternate term is political capital, but this phrase has a second cities:

Argentina

The Ciudad autónoma de Buenos Aires Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent. Greater Buenos Aires conurbation, which also includes several Buenos Aires is coterminous with the Argentine Federal District. In 1996, under the 1994 reform of the Argentine Constitution The 1994 reform to the Argentine Constitution was approved on 22 August, as a result of the Olivos Pact between the president of Argentina Carlos Saúl Menem, and the former president and leader of the opposition Raúl Alfonsín, the city gained autonomous status, and held its first mayoral elections. Buenos Aires is represented in the Argentine Senate The Argentine Senate is the upper house of parliament in Argentina. It has 72 senators: three for each province and three for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. Senators are elected by direct election on a provincial basis, with the party with the most votes being awarded two of the province's senate seats and the second-place party receiving by three senators and in the Argentine Chamber of Deputies by 25 national deputies.

Australia

The Australian Capital Territory The Australian Capital Territory is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and its smallest self-governing internal territory. It is enclaved within New South Wales, and regularly referred to as Australia's 'Bush Capital' (ACT) is one of two self-governing internal territories of the Australian federation, the other being the Northern Territory The Northern Territory is a federal territory of Australia, occupying much of the centre of the mainland continent, as well as the central northern regions. It shares borders with Western Australia to the west , South Australia to the south (26th parallel south), and Queensland to the east (138th meridian east) (NT). Created in 1911, the ACT was originally called the Federal Capital Territory, the current name being acquired in 1938. The ACT was constituted specifically to house the seat of government, the goal being to avoid situating the new nation's capital Canberra Canberra (pronounced /ˈkænbrə, ˈkænbɛrə/) is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), 280 km (170 mi) south-west of Sydney, and 660 km (410 mi) north-east of in either New South Wales New South Wales , Australia's most populous state, is located in the south-east of the country, north of Victoria, south of Queensland, east of South Australia and encompasses the whole of the Australian Capital Territory. It was founded in 1788 and originally comprised much of the Australian mainland, as well as Van Diemen's Land, Lord Howe or Victoria Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically the smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north, South Australia to the west, and Tasmania to the south, across the Bass Strait. Victoria is the most densely populated state, and has a highly centralised population, with over 70% of Victorians, the two most populous states. The ACT is an enclave In political geography, an enclave is a territory whose geographical boundaries lie entirely within the boundaries of another territory of New South Wales.

Although the ACT has its own Chief Minister and its own legislature (the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly), the Federal Parliament The Parliament of Australia, also known as the Commonwealth Parliament or Federal Parliament, is the legislative branch of the government of Australia. It is bicameral, largely modelled in the Westminster tradition, but with some influences from the United States Congress. According to Section 1 of the Constitution of Australia, Parliament retains the right to overrule ACT legislation. While governing the entire ACT, the Legislative Assembly also acts as a municipal government for the city of Canberra. The Governor-General of Australia The Governor-General of the Commonwealth of Australia is the representative in Australia of the monarch of Australia . He or she exercises the supreme executive power of the Commonwealth. The functions and roles of the Governor-General include appointing ambassadors, ministers and judges, giving Royal Assent to legislation, issuing writs for exercises certain rights that in the states would be exercised by a state governor, such as the power to issue writs for elections.

At a federal level, the ACT and the NT both elect two members of the House of Representatives The House of Representatives is one of the two houses of the Parliament of Australia; it is the lower house, the upper house being the Senate and two Senators The Senate is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Australia, the lower house being the House of Representatives. Senators are popularly elected under a system of proportional representation, normally to terms of six years . Significant power is conferred upon the Senate by the Australian Constitution, including the capacity to block. The terms of the territory senators are tied to the term of the House of Representatives, not to the term of the Senate. This means that if there is an election for the Senate only (as last happened in 1970), this would involve only half the state senators, and the territory senators' terms would continue. Conversely, if there is an election for the House of Representatives only (as last happened in 1972), this would also involve the territory senators but not the state senators.

Brazil

Brasília Brasília is the capital of Brazil. The name is commonly spelled Brasilia in English. The city and its District are located in the Central-West region of the country, along a plateau known as Planalto Central. It has a population of about 2,557,000 (3,599,000 in the metropolitan area) as of the 2008 IBGE estimate, making it the fourth largest city, the capital of Brazil Brazil (pronounced /brəˈzɪl/ ; Portuguese: Brasil, IPA: [bɾaˈziw]), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: República Federativa do Brasil, listen (help·info)), is the largest country in South America and the only Portuguese-speaking country in the Americas. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical, is set within the Brazilian Federal District The Federal District is set apart for Brasília, the capital of Brazil. Located in a region called Planalto Central, or Central Plateau, the Federal District is divided in 20 administrative regions. Brasilia - place where the three branches of the Federal Government are located - is the main attraction of this dry area and climate with only two or Distrito Federal. The state includes several other cities. Brasília is a planned city A new town, planned community, or planned city is a city, town, or community that was carefully planned from its inception and is typically constructed in a previously undeveloped area. This contrasts with settlements that evolve in a more ad hoc fashion. Land use conflicts are uncommon in new towns as new towns are planned carefully, with no pre-existing status prior to its establishment.

The Federal District is an anomalous unit of the federation, as it is not organized the same manner as a municipality, does not possess the same autonomy as a state (but is ranked among them) and is closely related to the central power.

The District Governor is elected directly for a 4-year term. Local laws are issued by a legislative assembly also elected by the local population. Judiciary affairs are carried out by the Union, instead of being appointed by the governor as in the other states of Brazil The Federative Republic of Brazil is a union of twenty-six estados and one district, the Distrito Federal ("Federal District") which contains the capital city, Brasília. The district has the status of a federal state in many aspects. It has representatives both in the Lower House of Congress (Câmara dos Deputados The Chamber of Deputies of Brazil is a federal legislative body and the lower house of the National Congress of Brazil. As of 2006, the chamber comprises 513 deputies, who are elected by proportional representation to serve four-year terms. The current president of the Chamber is deputy Michel Temer (PMDB-SP)) and in the national Senate The Federal Senate of Brazil is the upper house of the National Congress of Brazil. Created by the first Constitution of the Brazilian Empire in 1824, it was inspired in United Kingdom's House of Lords, but with the Proclamation of the Republic in 1889 it became closer to the United States Senate.

The Brazilian federal government was transferred to the Distrito Federal in April 21, 1960, which was then split off from the state of Goiás Goiás is a state of Brazil, located in the central part of the country. The name Goiás (formerly, Goyaz) comes from the name of an indigenous community. The original word seems to have been guaiá, a compound of gua e iá, meaning "the same person" or "people of the same origin." The most central of the Brazilian states and. Before the transfer, the Brazilian capital was the municipality of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, 6th largest in the Americas and receives more international visitors than any other city in the Southern Hemisphere. After the transfer, the municipality of Rio de Janeiro became the Estado da Guanabara (State of Guanabara), which existed from 1960 until 1975 when the State of Guanabara was merged into the State of Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro is one of the 26 states of Brazil.

China, People's Republic of

Beijing Beijing , also known as Peking (pronounced /piːˈkɪŋ/ or /peɪˈkɪŋ/), is a metropolis in northern China, and the capital of the People's Republic of China. Governed as a municipality under direct administration of the central government, Beijing borders Hebei Province to the north, west, south, and for a small section in the east, and is a direct-controlled municipality.

Colombia

Main article: Bogotá, Capital District

In Colombia the Capital District of Bogotá, containing the city of Bogotá was created as a Special District in 1955 by Gustavo Rojas Pinilla. It was renamed "Capital District" in the Colombian Constitution of 1991. The district is subdivided into 20 localities.

Dominican Republic

Main article: Distrito Nacional

In Dominican Republic the Nacional District of Santo Domingo, containing the city of Santo Domingo de Guzman was created as a Special District in 1922. In 1844 it was the Santo Domingo Province and then the constitution of the Dominican Republic decided that the country needed the capital to be in a special district.

India

The National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT) is a special Union Territory of India. The territory encompasses three statutory towns: New Delhi (the capital of India), Delhi and Delhi Cantonment, along with 59 census towns and 165 villages.

The NCT was set up as a federally administered Union Territory on 11 November 1956. In December 1991, the NCT was given a legislative assembly headed by a Chief Minister. The territory is not classified as a true Union territory, though the Central government does have limited control over the functioning of the territory much like other Union territories. Delhi is to eventually become a full fledged state.

The NCT is unique in India in that the municipal control is handled by a locally elected government, major areas such as the police, and administration are handled by the central government.

Indonesia

In Indonesia, the national capital Jakarta is within the Daerah Khusus Ibukota Jakarta (Jakarta Special Capital District). Jakarta is considered as one of Indonesia's provinces so Jakarta is headed by a governor and not a mayor. However, Jakarta is divided into 5 smaller "administrative-cities" (which are headed by mayors) and one "administrative-regency". Administrative-city is different to city, and administrative-regency is different to regency, because of its degree of autonomy. These all only available in Jakarta. Mayors of administrative-cities and regent of administrative-regency are not elected by each people there, by the Governor and members of the Provincial Parliament of Jakarta Special Capital District instead. And each do not have local parliament.

Iraq

Baghdad, the capital of Iraq, is contained within a Special Capital District.

Malaysia

In Malaysia, the national capital of Kuala Lumpur lies within the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur (since 1974) while The Federal Government Administrative Centre of Putrajaya, 40 km to the south of KL lies within the Federal Territory of Putrajaya (since 2001). Both federal territories are enclaves within the State of Selangor.

Mali

Further information: Regions of Mali

Bamako, the capital of Mali, is contained within the Bamako Capital District.

Mexico

Mexican Federal District or Distrito Federal since 1824 is coterminous with Mexico City. The D.F. is a federal district serving as the capital of Mexico and which is administered by the Mexican Federal Government. The D.F. encompasses the historical center of Mexico City, but is much larger than the historical municipality of Mexico City abolished in 1928. The urbanized area of Mexico City covers only the north of the D.F., while the south of the D.F. is made up of rural areas and mountains. Although the D.F. is not a municipality, the name "Ciudad de México" is used by Mexican authorities as a synonym for the Distrito Federal (Federal District). Mexico City as a municipality was abolished in 1928, and the name "Mexico City" can now refer to two things.

According to the Constitution of Mexico, Mexico City is the Federal District, (Distrito Federal). This is actually a fairly recent reform (dating from 1993) of Article 44 of the Constitution, and it was aimed at ending two centuries of quite sterile discussions (and occasional problems on jurisdiction) about whether one concept engulfed the other or even if one of the two entities really had any legal existence in lieu of the other. The complete text of the aforementioned reform also states that Mexico City is the seat of the Powers of the Union (Executive, Legislative and Judicial) and capital of the United Mexican States.

Nigeria

Nigeria's capital Abuja is located in the Federal Capital Territory. The Territory was established in 1976, and the capital was formally moved from Lagos (the historic capital) in 1991.

Niger

Niger's capital, Niamey, comprises a capital district of Niger. It is surrounded by the department of Tillabéri.

North Korea

North Korea's capital city, P'yŏng-yang, while traditionally located within South P'yŏng-an Province, is currently seen as a "directly governed city" (Chikalshi 직할시). For a time, P'yŏng-yang was considered a "special city" (T'ŭkpyŏlshi 특별시), to make it equivalent to its South Korean counterpart, Seoul.

Pakistan

The capital of Pakistan, Islamabad, is a planned city within the Islamabad Capital Territory, which was created in 1960 out of the Punjab Province. The Territory elects representatives to both houses of the legislature. Before Islamabad was made the capital, Karachi was located in the Federal Capital Territory, which later reverted to the Sindh Province.

Papua New Guinea

Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea has been contained with in the National Capital District of Papua New Guinea since the country achieved independence in 1975.

Republic of China

Taipei, the capital of Republic of China (colloquially known as Taiwan) is a direct-controlled municipality.

South Korea

South Korea's capital city, Seoul, while traditionally located within Kyŏnggi Province, is currently seen as a "special city" (Teukbyeolsi/T'ŭkpyŏlshi 특별시). Seoul's mayor is seen as the equivalent of any provincial governor.

United States

As provided by the Article 1, Section 8 of the United States Constitution, the seat of the United States government is a federal district known as the District of Columbia. When created in 1790, the District comprised 100 square miles (260 km²) of land donated by the states of Maryland and Virginia. Columbia was a poetic name for the United States used at the time.

The City of Washington was built in the center of the District, but other towns were also located in the territory such as Georgetown and Alexandria. The United States Congress returned the Virginia portion of the District back to that state in 1846. The District of Columbia Organic Act of 1871 revoked the charters of the individuals cities of Washington and Georgetown, and instead created a single government for the whole District of Columbia. The City of Washington no longer exists; however, the name continues in use and the city is often referred to as just Washington, D.C.

Since the Home Rule Act of 1973, the District of Columbia has been run by an elected mayor and city council. Congress retains ultimate authority over the District and has the right to review the local budget and taxes, overturn laws passed by the city council, and terminate home rule. District residents pay federal taxes and are represented by a single, non-voting member in the United States House of Representatives.

Because of the Twenty-third Amendment to the United States Constitution, the people of the District of Columbia are allowed to vote for President of the United States. The District is allotted three electoral votes, equal to that of the least populous state. Before this, the residents of the District were not afforded the right to vote for the President who resides within their territory. The District still does not have voting representation in Congress, however.

Venezuela

Venezuelan Capital District / Metropolitan District of Caracas since 2000.

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