South Africa officially has three national capitals.
Pretoria is the administrative capital, where the executive branch and national government departments are based. Cape Town is the legislative capital and hosts the National Assembly and National Council of Provinces. Bloemfontein is the judicial capital and traditionally houses the Supreme Court of Appeal.
This arrangement reflects political compromises made during the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910. Several important cities wanted national institutions, so responsibilities were distributed rather than concentrated in one capital.
South Africa is often confused with countries that have one official capital and several major government centres. Johannesburg, the country’s largest city and an important financial hub, is not one of the three official capitals.