Which settlement is the capital of the Pitcairn Islands?

The settlement that serves as the capital of the Pitcairn Islands is Adamstown. It is the territory’s only permanent settlement and the place where its entire resident population lives.

Adamstown lies on the central northern side of Pitcairn Island, near Bounty Bay, the group’s main landing place. The settlement was named after John Adams, the last surviving mutineer from HMS Bounty, whose crew and Tahitian companions settled on Pitcairn in 1790.

The Pitcairn Islands are a British Overseas Territory in the southern Pacific Ocean, not a sovereign country. That distinction can cause confusion when comparing Adamstown with national capitals. The other islands in the group—Henderson, Oeno and Ducie—are uninhabited, so Adamstown is both the administrative centre and the community’s practical hub.

With only a few dozen residents, Adamstown is among the world’s smallest capitals by population. Alofi, Avarua and Kingston are capitals of other Pacific territories or countries, not the Pitcairn Islands.