Geography Quiz Arcade

Capital to Country Quiz

Given a capital, identify the country.

A capital city appears — name its country. All 197 capitals, free, no signup, with instant answers on every miss.

How the capitals quiz works

You are shown a capital city and choose or type the matching country. Wrong answers show the correct pairing immediately, which is how the capitals actually stick. Play the reverse direction with Country to Capital.

Learn capitals in groups of ten

Trying to memorise 197 capitals in one sitting does not work. Ten at a time, grouped by region, does:

  1. Western Europe
  2. Eastern Europe and the Balkans
  3. The Nordics and Baltics
  4. North Africa and the Middle East
  5. West Africa
  6. East and Southern Africa
  7. Central and South Asia
  8. East and Southeast Asia
  9. North and Central America
  10. South America and Oceania

Ten a day gets you through every capital in about three weeks, with review time built in.

The capitals that catch people out

  • Countries whose capital is not the biggest city: Turkey (Ankara, not Istanbul), the United States (Washington DC, not New York), Brazil (Brasília, not São Paulo), Australia (Canberra, not Sydney), Canada (Ottawa, not Toronto), Switzerland (Bern, not Zurich), Nigeria (Abuja, not Lagos), Morocco (Rabat, not Casablanca), Myanmar (Naypyidaw, not Yangon), Kazakhstan (Astana, not Almaty), Ivory Coast (Yamoussoukro is the official capital, with Abidjan the largest city and seat of government).
  • Countries with more than one capital city: South Africa has three — Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative) and Bloemfontein (judicial). Bolivia has Sucre as constitutional capital and La Paz as seat of government.

Those two lists alone are worth more than an hour of random practice.

Practice ladder

  1. Country to Capital
  2. European Capitals
  3. African Capitals
  4. Asian Capitals
  5. US State Capitals
  6. World capitals reference list

Keep reading

Frequently asked questions

How many world capitals are there?

197, one for each widely recognised sovereign state — though a few countries have more than one official capital.

Which country has three capital cities?

South Africa: Pretoria is the executive capital, Cape Town the legislative capital and Bloemfontein the judicial capital.

What is the fastest way to memorize capitals?

Ten capitals a day grouped by region, reviewing yesterday's ten before starting the next set.

Is the capitals quiz free?

Yes — no signup, no download, unlimited plays.

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