World capitals quiz

How the capitals quiz works

Capitals with a story: 22 special cases

These are the answers most often disputed, outdated or split between cities in other quizzes and atlases.

Belize: Belmopan

Belmopan, a planned inland capital, replaced hurricane-exposed Belize City in 1970.

Benin: Porto-Novo

Porto-Novo is the official capital. Cotonou, the largest city, is Benin’s economic hub and where most of government works.

Bolivia: Sucre (constitutional) and La Paz (seat of government)

Bolivia has two capitals. Sucre is the constitutional capital and seat of the judiciary; La Paz houses the executive and legislature and is the highest seat of government in the world. The multiple-choice quiz shows Sucre; either city is accepted when typing.

Brazil: Brasília

Brasília, a planned city inaugurated in 1960, replaced Rio de Janeiro as the capital.

Burundi: Gitega

Gitega replaced Bujumbura as the capital in 2019. Bujumbura, on Lake Tanganyika, remains the largest city.

Equatorial Guinea: Ciudad de la Paz

Under Decree-Law 1/2026, Ciudad de la Paz (formerly Oyala), a planned city in mainland Río Muni, replaced Malabo on Bioko island as the national capital. Many atlases and older quizzes still give Malabo.

Eswatini: Mbabane

Mbabane is the administrative capital of Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). Lobamba, nearby, is the royal and legislative capital, where parliament sits.

Israel: Jerusalem

Israel designates Jerusalem as its capital. The city’s status is disputed internationally and many countries keep their embassies in Tel Aviv.

Ivory Coast: Yamoussoukro

Yamoussoukro has been the official capital since 1983, but Abidjan, the largest city, remains the economic capital and hosts most embassies and much of government business.

Kazakhstan: Astana

The capital moved from Almaty to Astana in 1997. The city was renamed Nur-Sultan in 2019 and reverted to Astana in 2022. The quiz expects Astana and accepts Nur-Sultan when typing.

Kiribati: Tarawa

Government offices are on South Tarawa, part of the Tarawa atoll; both Tarawa and South Tarawa are accepted when typing.

Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur

Kuala Lumpur is the capital and largest city. Most federal ministries and the prime minister’s office have moved to Putrajaya, a planned administrative centre south of Kuala Lumpur, which is not the capital.

Myanmar: Naypyidaw

Naypyidaw became the capital in 2005–2006, replacing Yangon, which is still the largest city.

Nauru: Yaren

Nauru has no official capital; government offices are in Yaren District, which is the usual quiz answer.

Netherlands: Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the capital under the Dutch constitution, but The Hague is the seat of government and home to the International Court of Justice. Quizzes that answer “The Hague” are confusing the two roles.

Nigeria: Abuja

Abuja, a planned city in the centre of the country, replaced Lagos as the capital in 1991. Lagos remains by far the largest city.

Palau: Ngerulmud

Ngerulmud, on Babeldaob, was purpose-built and replaced Koror as the capital in 2006. It is one of the least-populated national capitals in the world.

Palestine: Jerusalem (proclaimed), Ramallah (administrative)

The State of Palestine proclaims Jerusalem as its capital, while its administrative institutions are based in Ramallah. Because the designation is disputed, Palestine is listed here but not scored in the capitals quiz.

South Africa: Pretoria (administrative), Cape Town (legislative), Bloemfontein (judicial)

South Africa splits its capital functions between three cities: Pretoria (administrative), Cape Town (legislative) and Bloemfontein (judicial). Johannesburg, the largest city, is not one of them. The quiz shows Pretoria; any of the three is accepted when typing.

Sri Lanka: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (administrative), Colombo (commercial)

This site lists Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte as the administrative capital and the adjoining city of Colombo as the commercial capital. The quiz expects Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (“Kotte” is accepted when typing).

Switzerland: Bern

Switzerland’s constitution names no capital. Bern is the “federal city”, the seat of the federal government and parliament.

Tanzania: Dodoma

Dodoma is the official capital and seat of parliament. Dar es Salaam is the largest city and commercial centre, and many offices and embassies remain there.

Tricky ones to remember

Capitals that are not the largest city

The most common wrong answer is the country’s biggest or best-known city. These are well-known cases; the list is not exhaustive, and city size depends on where the boundary is drawn.

Country	Capital	Larger city often guessed
Australia	Canberra	Sydney
Belize	Belmopan	Belize City
Benin	Porto-Novo	Cotonou
Bolivia	Sucre	Santa Cruz de la Sierra
Brazil	Brasília	São Paulo
Burundi	Gitega	Bujumbura
Canada	Ottawa	Toronto
China	Beijing	Shanghai
Equatorial Guinea	Ciudad de la Paz	Bata
Gambia	Banjul	Serekunda
Ivory Coast	Yamoussoukro	Abidjan
Kazakhstan	Astana	Almaty
Morocco	Rabat	Casablanca
Myanmar	Naypyidaw	Yangon
New Zealand	Wellington	Auckland
Nigeria	Abuja	Lagos
Pakistan	Islamabad	Karachi
Palau	Ngerulmud	Koror
Philippines	Manila	Quezon City (part of Metro Manila)
South Africa	Pretoria	Johannesburg
Sri Lanka	Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte	Colombo
Switzerland	Bern	Zurich
Tanzania	Dodoma	Dar es Salaam
Turkey	Ankara	Istanbul
United Arab Emirates	Abu Dhabi	Dubai
United States	Washington D.C.	New York City
Vietnam	Hanoi	Ho Chi Minh City

Countries with similar names

Similar country names make it easy to attach a capital to the wrong one.

• Niger → NiameyvsNigeria → Abuja
• Republic of the Congo → BrazzavillevsDemocratic Republic of the Congo → Kinshasa
• Guinea → ConakryvsGuinea-Bissau → Bissau
• Guinea → ConakryvsEquatorial Guinea → Ciudad de la Paz
• Sudan → KhartoumvsSouth Sudan → Juba
• Mali → BamakovsMalawi → Lilongwe
• Mauritania → NouakchottvsMauritius → Port Louis
• Zambia → LusakavsZimbabwe → Harare
• Iran → TehranvsIraq → Baghdad
• North Korea → PyongyangvsSouth Korea → Seoul
• Slovakia → BratislavavsSlovenia → Ljubljana
• Latvia → RigavsLithuania → Vilnius
• Austria → ViennavsAustralia → Canberra
• Iceland → ReykjavikvsIreland → Dublin
• Dominica → RoseauvsDominican Republic → Santo Domingo
• Paraguay → AsunciónvsUruguay → Montevideo

Capitals with similar names

• Port-au-Prince (Haiti)·Port Louis (Mauritius)·Port Moresby (Papua New Guinea)·Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago)·Port Vila (Vanuatu)
• San Jose (Costa Rica)·San Salvador (El Salvador)·San Marino (San Marino)
• Saint John's (Antigua and Barbuda)·Saint George's (Grenada)
• Kingston (Jamaica)·Kingstown (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines)

Capitals named after their country

13 capitals share the country’s name, or their country is named after them: Andorra la Vella (Andorra), Djibouti (Djibouti), Guatemala City (Guatemala), Kuwait City (Kuwait), Luxembourg (Luxembourg), Mexico City (Mexico), Monaco (Monaco), Panama City (Panama), San Marino (San Marino), São Tomé (Sao Tome and Principe), Singapore (Singapore), Tunis (Tunisia) and Vatican City (Vatican City).

The two closest capitals

The closest pair of capitals in the world is Rome (Italy) and Vatican City (Vatican City), about 3 km apart in a straight line. Distances use capital coordinates from Wikidata.

Study list: all 196 capitals of the world

Grouped by continent, the same groups the quiz uses for its wrong options. Capitals are shown exactly as recorded on each country profile.

Africa

Country	Capital	Region
Algeria	Algiers	North Africa
Angola	Luanda	Central Africa
Benin	Porto-Novonote	West Africa
Botswana	Gaborone	Southern Africa
Burkina Faso	Ouagadougou	West Africa
Burundi	Giteganote	East Africa
Cameroon	Yaounde	Central Africa
Cape Verde	Praia	West Africa
Central African Republic	Bangui	Central Africa
Chad	N'Djamena	Central Africa
Comoros	Moroni	East Africa
Democratic Republic of the Congo	Kinshasa	Central Africa
Djibouti	Djibouti	East Africa
Egypt	Cairo	North Africa
Equatorial Guinea	Ciudad de la Paznote	Central Africa
Eritrea	Asmara	East Africa
Eswatini	Mbabanenote	Southern Africa
Ethiopia	Addis Ababa	East Africa
Gabon	Libreville	Central Africa
Gambia	Banjul	West Africa
Ghana	Accra	West Africa
Guinea	Conakry	West Africa
Guinea-Bissau	Bissau	West Africa
Ivory Coast	Yamoussoukronote	West Africa
Kenya	Nairobi	East Africa
Lesotho	Maseru	Southern Africa
Liberia	Monrovia	West Africa
Libya	Tripoli	North Africa
Madagascar	Antananarivo	East Africa
Malawi	Lilongwe	East Africa
Mali	Bamako	West Africa
Mauritania	Nouakchott	West Africa
Mauritius	Port Louis	East Africa
Morocco	Rabat	North Africa
Mozambique	Maputo	East Africa
Namibia	Windhoek	Southern Africa
Niger	Niamey	West Africa
Nigeria	Abujanote	West Africa
Republic of the Congo	Brazzaville	Central Africa
Rwanda	Kigali	East Africa
Sao Tome and Principe	São Tomé	Central Africa
Senegal	Dakar	West Africa
Seychelles	Victoria	East Africa
Sierra Leone	Freetown	West Africa
Somalia	Mogadishu	East Africa
South Africa	Pretoria (administrative), Cape Town (legislative), Bloemfontein (judicial)note	Southern Africa
South Sudan	Juba	East Africa
Sudan	Khartoum	North Africa
Tanzania	Dodomanote	East Africa
Togo	Lomé	West Africa
Tunisia	Tunis	North Africa
Uganda	Kampala	East Africa
Zambia	Lusaka	Southern Africa
Zimbabwe	Harare	Southern Africa

Americas

Country	Capital	Region
Antigua and Barbuda	Saint John's	Caribbean
Argentina	Buenos Aires	South America
Bahamas	Nassau	Caribbean
Barbados	Bridgetown	Caribbean
Belize	Belmopannote	Central America
Bolivia	Sucre (constitutional) and La Paz (seat of government)note	South America
Brazil	Brasílianote	South America
Canada	Ottawa	North America
Chile	Santiago	South America
Colombia	Bogota	South America
Costa Rica	San Jose	Central America
Cuba	Havana	Caribbean
Dominica	Roseau	Caribbean
Dominican Republic	Santo Domingo	Caribbean
Ecuador	Quito	South America
El Salvador	San Salvador	Central America
Grenada	Saint George's	Caribbean
Guatemala	Guatemala City	Central America
Guyana	Georgetown	South America
Haiti	Port-au-Prince	Caribbean
Honduras	Tegucigalpa	Central America
Jamaica	Kingston	Caribbean
Mexico	Mexico City	North America
Nicaragua	Managua	Central America
Panama	Panama City	Central America
Paraguay	Asunción	South America
Peru	Lima	South America
Saint Kitts and Nevis	Basseterre	Caribbean
Saint Lucia	Castries	Caribbean
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Kingstown	Caribbean
Suriname	Paramaribo	South America
Trinidad and Tobago	Port of Spain	Caribbean
United States	Washington D.C.	North America
Uruguay	Montevideo	South America
Venezuela	Caracas	South America

Asia

Country	Capital	Region
Afghanistan	Kabul	South Asia
Bahrain	Manama	Western Asia
Bangladesh	Dhaka	South Asia
Bhutan	Thimphu	South Asia
Brunei	Bandar Seri Begawan	Southeast Asia
Cambodia	Phnom Penh	Southeast Asia
China	Beijing	East Asia
Cyprus	Nicosia	Western Asia
India	New Delhi	South Asia
Indonesia	Jakarta	Southeast Asia
Iran	Tehran	Western Asia
Iraq	Baghdad	Western Asia
Israel	Jerusalemnote	Western Asia
Japan	Tokyo	East Asia
Jordan	Amman	Western Asia
Kazakhstan	Astananote	Central Asia
Kuwait	Kuwait City	Western Asia
Kyrgyzstan	Bishkek	Central Asia
Laos	Vientiane	Southeast Asia
Lebanon	Beirut	Western Asia
Malaysia	Kuala Lumpurnote	Southeast Asia
Maldives	Malé	South Asia
Mongolia	Ulaanbaatar	East Asia
Myanmar	Naypyidawnote	Southeast Asia
Nepal	Kathmandu	South Asia
North Korea	Pyongyang	East Asia
Oman	Muscat	Western Asia
Pakistan	Islamabad	South Asia
Palestine	Jerusalem (proclaimed), Ramallah (administrative)note	Western Asia
Philippines	Manila	Southeast Asia
Qatar	Doha	Western Asia
Saudi Arabia	Riyadh	Western Asia
Singapore	Singapore	Southeast Asia
South Korea	Seoul	East Asia
Sri Lanka	Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (administrative), Colombo (commercial)note	South Asia
Syria	Damascus	Western Asia
Taiwan	Taipei	East Asia
Tajikistan	Dushanbe	Central Asia
Thailand	Bangkok	Southeast Asia
Timor-Leste	Dili	Southeast Asia
Turkey	Ankara	Western Asia
Turkmenistan	Ashgabat	Central Asia
United Arab Emirates	Abu Dhabi	Western Asia
Uzbekistan	Tashkent	Central Asia
Vietnam	Hanoi	Southeast Asia
Yemen	Sanaa	Western Asia

Europe

Country	Capital	Region
Albania	Tirana	Southern Europe
Andorra	Andorra la Vella	Southern Europe
Armenia	Yerevan	Caucasus
Austria	Vienna	Central Europe
Azerbaijan	Baku	Caucasus
Belarus	Minsk	Eastern Europe
Belgium	Brussels	Western Europe
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Sarajevo	Southern Europe
Bulgaria	Sofia	Southern Europe
Croatia	Zagreb	Southern Europe
Czech Republic	Prague	Central Europe
Denmark	Copenhagen	Northern Europe
Estonia	Tallinn	Northern Europe
Finland	Helsinki	Northern Europe
France	Paris	Western Europe
Georgia	Tbilisi	Caucasus
Germany	Berlin	Western Europe
Greece	Athens	Southern Europe
Hungary	Budapest	Central Europe
Iceland	Reykjavik	Northern Europe
Ireland	Dublin	Northern Europe
Italy	Rome	Southern Europe
Latvia	Riga	Northern Europe
Liechtenstein	Vaduz	Central Europe
Lithuania	Vilnius	Northern Europe
Luxembourg	Luxembourg	Western Europe
Malta	Valletta	Southern Europe
Moldova	Chisinau	Eastern Europe
Monaco	Monaco	Western Europe
Montenegro	Podgorica	Southern Europe
Netherlands	Amsterdamnote	Western Europe
North Macedonia	Skopje	Southern Europe
Norway	Oslo	Northern Europe
Poland	Warsaw	Central Europe
Portugal	Lisbon	Southern Europe
Romania	Bucharest	Southeast Europe
Russia	Moscow	Eastern Europe
San Marino	San Marino	Southern Europe
Serbia	Belgrade	Southern Europe
Slovakia	Bratislava	Central Europe
Slovenia	Ljubljana	Central Europe
Spain	Madrid	Southern Europe
Sweden	Stockholm	Northern Europe
Switzerland	Bernnote	Western Europe
Ukraine	Kyiv	Eastern Europe
United Kingdom	London	Northern Europe
Vatican City	Vatican City	Southern Europe

Oceania

Country	Capital	Region
Australia	Canberra	Australasia
Fiji	Suva	Melanesia
Kiribati	Tarawanote	Micronesia
Marshall Islands	Majuro	Micronesia
Micronesia	Palikir	Micronesia
Nauru	Yarennote	Micronesia
New Zealand	Wellington	Australasia
Palau	Ngerulmudnote	Micronesia
Papua New Guinea	Port Moresby	Melanesia
Samoa	Apia	Polynesia
Solomon Islands	Honiara	Melanesia
Tonga	Nuku'alofa	Polynesia
Tuvalu	Funafuti	Polynesia
Vanuatu	Port Vila	Melanesia

Capitals: Countries.World country records. Coordinates for distances: Wikidata (CC0), accessed 2026-10-10.