South America is home to 12 independent countries, each with an official capital city that serves as its political center. Bolivia has two capital cities, with one serving as the administrative and the other serving as the constitutional capital.
Some South American capitals are major global cities, while others are smaller but still play an important role in government, history, and regional development.
Capital cities of South America
Below is an alphabetical list of the capital cities of South America, organized by country.
| Country | Capital City |
|---|---|
| Argentina | Buenos Aires |
| Bolivia | La Paz (administrative and legislative capital), Sucre (constitutional capital) |
| Brazil | Brasilia |
| Chile | Santiago |
| Colombia | Bogota |
| Ecuador | Quito |
| Guyana | Georgetown |
| Paraguay | Asunción |
| Peru | Lima |
| Suriname | Paramaribo |
| Uruguay | Montevideo |
| Venezuela | Caracas |
Download: List of South American capital cities.
If you are looking for a city that does not appear in this list, it may be located in North America. You can view a complete list of North American capitals.
South America capitals map
The map below shows the geographic locations of the capital cities in South America.
Printable South American maps are also available for download if you would like to study or memorize the capitals.
Capital cities quiz
Test your knowledge by matching each South American capital city with its corresponding country.
Ready for a bigger challenge? Take our South America Capital Map Quiz and see where you rank on the leaderboard.
After completing this quiz, you can continue with the world’s capital cities or browse the full list of countries.
Caitriona Maria is an education writer and owner of The Facts Institute. With seven years of teaching experience and a background in educational content, she specialises in creating clear reference resources about countries, geography and global topics.