But how are capital cities chosen, anyway? Location is often key. Many countries choose a geographically central capital in order to emphasize the equity of their government; this way, the capital isn’t as likely to be, or seem to be, biased toward one region or another.

Sometimes, countries choose an existing city as the capital, often picking a city that contains a substantial portion of the country’s population. Examples of such capitals include Lima, Peru, and Seoul, South Korea. Other times, countries build a completely new capital city.