History and politics have created two unique exceptions in the world
Most people start from the idea that every country has its own capital, but there are only two countries in the world that officially do not have a capital city.
No, we're not talking about the Vatican, Monaco or Singapore, where the city and the state are practically one. We're talking about Nauru and Switzerland, two countries that for completely different reasons have been left without an officially declared capital.
Nauru – a country without classical cities
The first is Nauru, a very small island in the Pacific Ocean, smaller in area than Manhattan. The country is divided into 14 administrative districts and has about 12.000 inhabitants, most of whom live along the coast.
Nauru has no capital because in fact there are no cities in the classical senseThere are settlements and administrative centers, but none of them has ever received the status of capital.
Interestingly, during the second half of the 20th century, Nauru was one of the richest countries in the world per capita. The reason was its large phosphate reserves, created by the deposition of bird droppings over thousands of years. With the depletion of these reserves, the economic boom ended abruptly.
Today, the country faces serious economic and ecological problems and is heavily dependent on financial assistance from Australia.
In practice, the district has the greatest administrative importance. Yaren, where the parliament and most state institutions are located, but this district does not have official capital status either, reports the Telegraph.
Switzerland – a wealthy country without an official capital
The second country without a formal capital is Switzerland, which often surprises many people. This country has 26 cantons, which historically have functioned almost as independent states.
Because of its strong insistence on equality between cantons and decentralization of power, Switzerland has never declared an official capital.
Instead, key state functions are spread across several cities. Bern It is the seat of the federal government and parliament and bears the title of "federal city", but is not officially the capital. The Federal Court is located in Lausanne, while the Federal Criminal Court is located in Bellinzona.
This system reflects the Swiss political culture of compromise and balancing power between regions.
Switzerland is one of the few countries where decentralization is so strong that the cantons have their own constitutions, parliaments, and courts. This is precisely why the declaration of a city as the dominant political center has been avoided, in keeping with the long tradition of federalism and direct democracy.
These two examples show that the notion of the capital it is not a universal rule, but the result of historical, political and geographical circumstances, which can vary radically from one country to another. /Telegraph/
