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Climate change, growing population forcing 4 countries to move capital cities

04 May 2022 19:55 (UTC +04:00)

The decision to move the capitals of South Korea, Indonesia, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, and the British overseas territory of Montserrat was prompted by increasing population, climate change, and natural conditions instead of political or security reasons, APA reports citing Anadolu Agency.

According to data compiled by Anadolu Agency, while only Montserrat's capital is a "ghost town" today, the capitals of the other four countries are home to a significant part of the respective countries’ total population.

In the past, many countries such as Kazakhstan, Pakistan, Brazil, Malaysia, Nigeria, and Myanmar changed their capitals due to political reasons.

However, when we look at the past 50 years, natural events, climate, and economic reasons as well as population growth lie behind the changes in the capital cities rather than political reasons.

Egypt’s capital Cairo, which is among the most populated cities across the world, is also among the most important cities in Africa and the Muslim world, as well as one of the leading cities with its thousands of years of history.

While the city is estimated to reach a population of 40 million by 2050, the construction of the new capital, which includes high-level public buildings, embassies, and important financial institutions, started in 2015 which would bring the government buildings closer together and reduce the population and traffic burden of Cairo.

The new city was named the "New Administrative Capital" for the time being.