The quiz asks about 188 countries. Seven are left out on purpose, because a single answer would be misleading: Bolivia, South Africa, Sri Lanka and Eswatini each have more than one capital; Nauru has no official capital; and the status of Jerusalem is disputed for Israel and Palestine. Their notes appear in the table below.
Some answers come with a note too. Several countries moved their capitals in living memory: Nigeria from Lagos to Abuja, Myanmar from Yangon to Naypyidaw, Burundi from Bujumbura to Gitega.
Capitals people get wrong
- The classic traps are big cities that aren't capitals: Sydney (Canberra), Toronto (Ottawa), Istanbul (Ankara), Rio de Janeiro (Brasília).
- Learn capitals that share the country's name as freebies: Mexico City, Guatemala City, Kuwait City, Singapore, Vatican City.
- Practice one continent at a time; Africa and Oceania are where most players lose points.
Every country and its capital
| Country | Capital | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | Kabul | |
| Albania | Tirana | |
| Algeria | Algiers | |
| Andorra | Andorra la Vella | |
| Angola | Luanda | |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Saint John's | |
| Argentina | Buenos Aires | |
| Armenia | Yerevan | |
| Australia | Canberra | Canberra, not Sydney, is the capital. |
| Austria | Vienna | |
| Azerbaijan | Baku | |
| Bahamas | Nassau | |
| Bahrain | Manama | |
| Bangladesh | Dhaka | |
| Barbados | Bridgetown | |
| Belarus | Minsk | |
| Belgium | Brussels | |
| Belize | Belmopan | |
| Benin | Porto-Novo | Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government and largest city. |
| Bhutan | Thimphu | |
| Bolivia | Sucre | Sucre is the constitutional capital; the government sits in La Paz. |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo | |
| Botswana | Gaborone | |
| Brazil | Brasília | Brasília replaced Rio de Janeiro as capital in 1960. |
| Brunei | Bandar Seri Begawan | |
| Bulgaria | Sofia | |
| Burkina Faso | Ouagadougou | |
| Burundi | Gitega | Gitega became the political capital in 2019; Bujumbura is the largest city. |
| Cabo Verde | Praia | |
| Cambodia | Phnom Penh | |
| Cameroon | Yaoundé | |
| Canada | Ottawa | Ottawa, not Toronto, is the capital. |
| Central African Republic | Bangui | |
| Chad | N'Djamena | |
| Chile | Santiago | |
| China | Beijing | |
| Colombia | Bogotá | |
| Comoros | Moroni | |
| Costa Rica | San José | |
| Côte d'Ivoire | Yamoussoukro | Yamoussoukro is the official capital; Abidjan is the largest city and economic center. |
| Croatia | Zagreb | |
| Cuba | Havana | |
| Cyprus | Nicosia | |
| Czechia | Prague | |
| Denmark | Copenhagen | |
| Djibouti | Djibouti | |
| Dominica | Roseau | |
| Dominican Republic | Santo Domingo | |
| DR Congo | Kinshasa | |
| Ecuador | Quito | |
| Egypt | Cairo | |
| El Salvador | San Salvador | |
| Equatorial Guinea | Malabo | |
| Eritrea | Asmara | |
| Estonia | Tallinn | |
| Eswatini | Mbabane | Mbabane is the administrative capital; Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital. |
| Ethiopia | Addis Ababa | |
| Fiji | Suva | |
| Finland | Helsinki | |
| France | Paris | |
| Gabon | Libreville | |
| Gambia | Banjul | |
| Georgia | Tbilisi | |
| Germany | Berlin | |
| Ghana | Accra | |
| Greece | Athens | |
| Grenada | St. George's | |
| Guatemala | Guatemala City | |
| Guinea | Conakry | |
| Guinea-Bissau | Bissau | |
| Guyana | Georgetown | |
| Haiti | Port-au-Prince | |
| Honduras | Tegucigalpa | |
| Hungary | Budapest | |
| Iceland | Reykjavik | |
| India | New Delhi | |
| Indonesia | Jakarta | |
| Iran | Tehran | |
| Iraq | Baghdad | |
| Ireland | Dublin | |
| Israel | Jerusalem | The status of Jerusalem is disputed internationally, so Israel is not included in the capital quiz. |
| Italy | Rome | |
| Jamaica | Kingston | |
| Japan | Tokyo | |
| Jordan | Amman | |
| Kazakhstan | Astana | Astana was named Nur-Sultan from 2019 to 2022. |
| Kenya | Nairobi | |
| Kiribati | South Tarawa | |
| Kuwait | Kuwait City | |
| Kyrgyzstan | Bishkek | |
| Laos | Vientiane | |
| Latvia | Riga | |
| Lebanon | Beirut | |
| Lesotho | Maseru | |
| Liberia | Monrovia | |
| Libya | Tripoli | |
| Liechtenstein | Vaduz | |
| Lithuania | Vilnius | |
| Luxembourg | Luxembourg | |
| Madagascar | Antananarivo | |
| Malawi | Lilongwe | |
| Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | Kuala Lumpur is the capital; many federal government offices moved to Putrajaya. |
| Maldives | Malé | |
| Mali | Bamako | |
| Malta | Valletta | |
| Marshall Islands | Majuro | |
| Mauritania | Nouakchott | |
| Mauritius | Port Louis | |
| Mexico | Mexico City | |
| Micronesia | Palikir | |
| Moldova | Chișinău | |
| Monaco | Monaco | |
| Mongolia | Ulan Bator | |
| Montenegro | Podgorica | |
| Morocco | Rabat | |
| Mozambique | Maputo | |
| Myanmar | Naypyidaw | Naypyidaw replaced Yangon as Myanmar's capital in the mid-2000s. |
| Namibia | Windhoek | |
| Nauru | Yaren | Nauru has no official capital; government offices are in Yaren District. |
| Nepal | Kathmandu | |
| Netherlands | Amsterdam | Amsterdam is the constitutional capital; the government and parliament sit in The Hague. |
| New Zealand | Wellington | |
| Nicaragua | Managua | |
| Niger | Niamey | |
| Nigeria | Abuja | Abuja replaced Lagos as Nigeria's capital in 1991. |
| North Korea | Pyongyang | |
| North Macedonia | Skopje | |
| Norway | Oslo | |
| Oman | Muscat | |
| Pakistan | Islamabad | |
| Palau | Ngerulmud | |
| Palestine | Ramallah | The status of Jerusalem is disputed internationally, so Palestine is not included in the capital quiz. |
| Panama | Panama City | |
| Papua New Guinea | Port Moresby | |
| Paraguay | Asunción | |
| Peru | Lima | |
| Philippines | Manila | |
| Poland | Warsaw | |
| Portugal | Lisbon | |
| Qatar | Doha | |
| Republic of the Congo | Brazzaville | |
| Romania | Bucharest | |
| Russia | Moscow | |
| Rwanda | Kigali | |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Basseterre | |
| Saint Lucia | Castries | |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Kingstown | |
| Samoa | Apia | |
| San Marino | City of San Marino | |
| São Tomé and Príncipe | São Tomé | |
| Saudi Arabia | Riyadh | |
| Senegal | Dakar | |
| Serbia | Belgrade | |
| Seychelles | Victoria | |
| Sierra Leone | Freetown | |
| Singapore | Singapore | |
| Slovakia | Bratislava | |
| Slovenia | Ljubljana | |
| Solomon Islands | Honiara | |
| Somalia | Mogadishu | |
| South Africa | Pretoria | South Africa has three capitals: Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative) and Bloemfontein (judicial). |
| South Korea | Seoul | |
| South Sudan | Juba | |
| Spain | Madrid | |
| Sri Lanka | Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte | Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is the official capital; Colombo is the largest city and commercial capital. |
| Sudan | Khartoum | |
| Suriname | Paramaribo | |
| Sweden | Stockholm | |
| Switzerland | Bern | Bern is the federal city; Swiss law does not name a capital. |
| Syria | Damascus | |
| Tajikistan | Dushanbe | |
| Tanzania | Dodoma | Dodoma is the official capital; Dar es Salaam is the largest city. |
| Thailand | Bangkok | |
| Timor-Leste | Dili | |
| Togo | Lomé | |
| Tonga | Nuku'alofa | |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Port of Spain | |
| Tunisia | Tunis | |
| Turkey | Ankara | Ankara, not Istanbul, is the capital. |
| Turkmenistan | Ashgabat | |
| Tuvalu | Funafuti | |
| Uganda | Kampala | |
| Ukraine | Kyiv | |
| United Arab Emirates | Abu Dhabi | |
| United Kingdom | London | |
| United States | Washington D.C. | |
| Uruguay | Montevideo | |
| Uzbekistan | Tashkent | |
| Vanuatu | Port Vila | |
| Vatican City | Vatican City | |
| Venezuela | Caracas | |
| Vietnam | Hanoi | |
| Yemen | Sana'a | |
| Zambia | Lusaka | |
| Zimbabwe | Harare |
Questions people ask
Which countries have more than one capital?
South Africa has three: Pretoria, Cape Town and Bloemfontein. Bolivia splits its capital between Sucre and La Paz, and several others, including the Netherlands, Malaysia and Eswatini, divide official and government functions between cities.
What is the highest capital city?
La Paz, Bolivia's seat of government, at about 3,600 meters above sea level. Quito, Ecuador, at about 2,850 meters, is the highest official capital.