Ask a quiz table for the capital of India and someone will say Mumbai. It's the country's financial centre and one of its two biggest cities, but India's capital is New Delhi. East and South Asia are full of traps like that: a famous city that isn't the capital, an old royal capital that still feels like one, or a capital that is in the middle of moving.
Asia is too big for one deck. This one covers 24 countries in East, South-East and South Asia. Part 2 covers Central Asia and the Caucasus, and the Middle East has its own deck, so nothing is repeated.
East Asia
Five countries, and two of them share a peninsula:
- Beijing (China), not Shanghai or Hong Kong. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of China, not a separate country.
- Tokyo (Japan). Kyoto was the emperor's home for about a thousand years, until the emperor moved to Tokyo in the 1860s.
- Ulaanbaatar (Mongolia), usually listed as the coldest national capital on average.
- Pyongyang (North Korea) and Seoul (South Korea). South Korea has moved many ministries to Sejong City, a planned administrative city, but Seoul is still the capital.
South-East Asia
Eleven countries: five on the mainland, the rest on the Malay Peninsula and the islands.
On the mainland, going round from west to east: Naypyidaw (Myanmar), Bangkok (Thailand), Vientiane (Laos, on the Mekong), Phnom Penh (Cambodia) and Hanoi (Vietnam). Thais call their capital Krung Thep; "Bangkok" is the name most foreigners use.
Down the Malay Peninsula and out to the islands:
- Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), though the government works mainly from Putrajaya, and Singapore, a city-state where the country and the capital share a name.
- Bandar Seri Begawan (Brunei), a small sultanate on the north coast of Borneo.
- Jakarta (Indonesia), on the island of Java.
- Manila (Philippines).
- Dili (Timor-Leste), the capital of one of the world's newest countries, independent since 2002.
South Asia
Eight countries around the Indian subcontinent:
- New Delhi (India), a district of the wider city of Delhi.
- Islamabad (Pakistan) and Dhaka (Bangladesh). Bangladesh was East Pakistan until it became independent in 1971.
- Kathmandu (Nepal) and Thimphu (Bhutan), both in the Himalayas.
- Malé (Maldives), on a small coral island in the Indian Ocean.
- Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (Sri Lanka), the official capital, with Colombo next door as the commercial capital.
- Kabul (Afghanistan). The Taliban have run the government there since 2021, and few countries formally recognise it. Afghanistan is sometimes grouped with Central Asia instead; it's here because it sits in the UN's Southern Asia region.
Capitals with a catch
- Indonesia is moving, slowly. A 2022 law named Nusantara, a new city on Borneo, as the next capital, and building has started. In 2026 Indonesia's Constitutional Court said Jakarta remains the capital until a presidential decree makes the move, and that decree hasn't been issued.
- Taiwan is disputed. The People's Republic of China, governed from Beijing, regards Taiwan as part of China. The government in Taipei, officially the Republic of China, runs Taiwan separately. Only a small number of countries recognise Taipei's government, and the UN seats Beijing's. Taiwan isn't on the cards.
- Kashmir is disputed. India and Pakistan both claim it and each controls part of it; China controls another part, which India also claims.
Easy ones to mix up
- New Delhi and Mumbai. Capital first, financial centre second.
- Beijing and Shanghai. Same pattern, China's version.
- Thimphu and Paro. Paro has Bhutan's international airport; Thimphu is the capital.
- Vientiane and Luang Prabang. Luang Prabang was the royal capital of Laos; Vientiane is the capital now.
- Kathmandu and Thimphu. Both Himalayan capitals; Kathmandu is Nepal, Thimphu is Bhutan.
Frequently asked questions
Is Mumbai the capital of India?
No. New Delhi is the capital; Mumbai is India's financial centre and the capital of the state of Maharashtra.
What is the capital of Indonesia?
Jakarta, for now. A law names Nusantara on Borneo as the next capital, but the move only takes effect when the president signs a decree.
How many countries are in South-East Asia?
Eleven: Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam.
What is the capital of South Korea?
Seoul. Many ministries now work from Sejong City, but Seoul is still the capital.
Try it
Cover the answers and say each capital before you flip, then name the mainland South-East Asian capitals from Naypyidaw to Hanoi in order. Where in the world is the capital that shares its name with its country?