What is the least populous capital city in the world?

Ngerulmud is the least populous capital city in the world. It serves as the seat of government of Palau, a Pacific island nation in Micronesia, and has no permanent fixed population recorded separately from its surrounding area.

Ngerulmud is located on Babeldaob, Palau’s largest island, in Melekeok State. Palau’s constitution, ratified in 1979, called for a permanent capital on Babeldaob, replacing the provisional capital at Koror. Government offices moved to Ngerulmud in October 2006.

The name is sometimes mistakenly treated as interchangeable with Melekeok, but they are distinct: Melekeok is the state and nearby town, while Ngerulmud is the government district. The 2020 census recorded 318 people in the whole state of Melekeok, not in Ngerulmud itself.

Ngerulmud is also often confused with Vatican City, which is the world’s smallest sovereign state by area and population. Ngerulmud’s claim concerns the population of a national capital, not the size of the country it represents.