About Capital Cities Quiz
Capital cities are the part of geography people are most confidently wrong about, usually because the biggest city and the capital are not the same place. This quiz asks both ways round: the capital of a country, and the country a capital belongs to.
More than 90 countries are in the deck, and the wrong answers come from the same continent, so you are choosing between four plausible cities rather than four random ones.
Countries with more than one capital are left out on purpose. South Africa has three, Bolivia has two, so neither belongs in a quiz with a single right answer.
How to play
- Press Start for a round of ten questions.
- Pick the capital, or the country, depending on which way the question is asked.
- Each answer shows the correct pairing before you continue.
- Finish the round for your score and your personal best.
Controls
- Mouse or touch: tap an answer
- Keyboard: 1 to 4 to answer, Enter to continue
Capitals that catch people out
- Australia: Canberra, not Sydney or Melbourne.
- Switzerland: Bern, not Zurich or Geneva.
- Turkey: Ankara, not Istanbul.
- Canada: Ottawa, not Toronto.
- Brazil: Brasilia, not Rio de Janeiro.
- United States: Washington, D.C., not New York.
- Nigeria: Abuja, not Lagos.
- Kazakhstan: Astana, not Almaty.
- Tanzania: Dodoma, not Dar es Salaam.
- New Zealand: Wellington, not Auckland.
Countries and capitals in this quiz
- Ukraine: Kyiv
- Russia: Moscow
- Turkey: Ankara
- United States: Washington, D.C.
- Canada: Ottawa
- Mexico: Mexico City
- Cuba: Havana
- Jamaica: Kingston
- Costa Rica: San Jose
- Panama: Panama City
- Guatemala: Guatemala City
- Brazil: Brasilia
- Argentina: Buenos Aires
- Chile: Santiago
- Peru: Lima
- Colombia: Bogota
- Venezuela: Caracas
- Ecuador: Quito
- Uruguay: Montevideo
- Paraguay: Asuncion
- China: Beijing
- Japan: Tokyo
- South Korea: Seoul
- India: New Delhi
- Pakistan: Islamabad
- Bangladesh: Dhaka
- Nepal: Kathmandu
- Thailand: Bangkok
Capital Cities Quiz FAQ
- Which countries have more than one capital?
- South Africa has three (Pretoria, Cape Town and Bloemfontein) and Bolivia has two (Sucre and La Paz). They are left out of this quiz for that reason.
- Why is the capital often not the biggest city?
- Many countries chose a smaller, more central or purpose-built city to avoid favoring one region. Brasilia, Canberra, Abuja and Astana were all built or promoted for exactly that reason.
- Does the quiz ask both directions?
- Yes. Some questions give you the country and ask for the capital, others give you the capital and ask for the country.