Geography · Unit 12

Countries and Capitals

The nations of the world

The political map is the most arbitrary thing in geography and the one with the most consequences. Borders are the residue of wars, treaties and colonial administration rather than of any physical feature.

The unit works region by region through the world's countries and capitals. It is unapologetically about recall, and the mixed question formats are there to make that recall stick better than a list would.

This unit breaks down into 20 short steps and 120 questions, starting at difficulty 1 and building to 3. Below you can see exactly what it covers, how the path is structured, and worked examples with explanations.

Steps: 20
Questions: 120
Difficulty: 1-3

What this unit covers

Asia
Africa
Oceania and Beyond
Europe
The Americas

Where this fits

Follows Continents and Oceans. Flags and Landmarks covers the same regions from a different angle.

Where people slip

The largest city is often not the capital. Washington, Canberra, Brasilia, Ottawa and Abuja are all deliberate choices over bigger rivals.

How the unit is structured

Countries and Capitals runs as 20 short steps that unlock in order. 15 are practice rounds and 5 are challenge rounds that pull together everything before them. Questions start at difficulty 1 and climb to 3 as you progress.

Step 1 · easierStep 20 · harder

Challenge rounds

Example questions

30 real questions from this unit, with the answer and the reason behind it, grouped by what they practise. There are 120 in the unit altogether.

Africa

Match the pairsLevel 1
1. Match each African country to its capital city.
Answer: Egypt = Cairo; Kenya = Nairobi; Nigeria = Abuja; South Africa = Pretoria
Cairo is Egypt's capital, Nairobi is Kenya's, Abuja is Nigeria's and Pretoria is a capital of South Africa.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
2. Select all of these African countries that are landlocked, with no coastline.
- Ugandacorrect
- Zambiacorrect
- Ghana
- Somalia
Uganda and Zambia are landlocked, while Ghana and Somalia both have coastlines.
Fact or fibLevel 2
3. Cape Verde is an island country made up of volcanic islands in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of West Africa.
Answer: True
Cape Verde is an Atlantic archipelago nation lying a few hundred kilometres west of Senegal.
Fill the blankLevel 2
4. Countries such as Chad and Ethiopia, which have no coastline, are ____ nations.
- landlockedcorrect
- island
- coastal
- peninsular
Chad and Ethiopia have no sea coast, so they are landlocked countries.
Multiple choiceLevel 2
5. Africa has more countries than any other continent. About how many does it have?
- About 54correct
- About 30
- About 90
- About 120
Africa is made up of about 54 countries, more than any other continent.
Build the sentenceLevel 3
6. Build the former name of Burkina Faso, used until 1984.
Answer: Upper Volta
Burkina Faso was known as Upper Volta until it was renamed in 1984.

Asia

Fact or fibLevel 1
7. Nepal is a landlocked country, sitting between India and China with no coastline.
Answer: True
Nepal lies between India and China and has no coastline, so it is landlocked.
Multiple choiceLevel 1
8. What is the capital city of Japan?
- Tokyocorrect
- Kyoto
- Osaka
- Seoul
Tokyo is the capital of Japan.
Choose all that applyLevel 3
9. Which two countries are the world's only doubly landlocked states, surrounded entirely by other landlocked countries?
- Uzbekistancorrect
- Liechtensteincorrect
- Mongolia
- Nepal
Uzbekistan and Liechtenstein are the only two doubly landlocked countries, needing to cross at least two borders to reach the sea.
Fill the blankLevel 3
10. The island nation of ____ was known as Ceylon until it changed its name in 1972.
- Sri Lankacorrect
- Maldives
- Malaysia
- Myanmar
Ceylon officially became Sri Lanka in 1972 when it declared itself a republic.
Guess the numberLevel 3
11. How many countries does China share a land border with?
Answer: 14 countries
China borders 14 countries, tying with Russia for the most land neighbours of any nation.
Match the pairsLevel 3
12. Match each Asian country to its capital city.
Answer: Bhutan = Thimphu; Laos = Vientiane; Mongolia = Ulaanbaatar; Nepal = Kathmandu
Bhutan, Laos, Mongolia and Nepal have capitals that many people struggle to recall.

Europe

Fill the blankLevel 1
13. A country that has no sea coast at all, like Switzerland, is described as ____.
- landlockedcorrect
- coastal
- tropical
- island
A landlocked country is one that has no coastline and is surrounded by land.
Match the pairsLevel 1
14. Match each European country to its capital city.
Answer: France = Paris; Germany = Berlin; Italy = Rome; Spain = Madrid
Paris is France's capital, Berlin is Germany's, Rome is Italy's and Madrid is Spain's.
Choose all that applyLevel 2
15. Select the three countries that make up Scandinavia proper.
- Norwaycorrect
- Swedencorrect
- Denmarkcorrect
- Finland
- Iceland
Scandinavia refers to Norway, Sweden and Denmark; Finland and Iceland are Nordic but not Scandinavian.
Fact or fibLevel 2
16. Vatican City is an enclave surrounded entirely by the city of Rome in Italy.
Answer: True
Vatican City sits inside Rome and is completely surrounded by Italian territory.
Guess the numberLevel 2
17. Roughly how many countries are there on the continent of Europe?
Answer: 44 countries
Europe has around 44 to 46 countries, depending on how they are counted.
Multiple choiceLevel 2
18. Not counting Russia, which is the largest country lying entirely within Europe?
- Ukrainecorrect
- France
- Germany
- Poland
Ukraine is the largest country located entirely in Europe by land area.

Oceania and Beyond

Fact or fibLevel 1
19. Australia and New Zealand both belong to the region known as Oceania.
Answer: True
Australia and New Zealand are both part of Oceania.
Fill the blankLevel 1
20. Australia is special because it is the only country that is also a whole ____.
- continentcorrect
- city
- ocean
- village
Australia is the only country that is also an entire continent.
Picture questionLevel 1
21. 🏝️ The picture shows tropical islands. Which of these is an island country in the Pacific region of Oceania?
- Fijicorrect
- Austria
- Bolivia
- Nepal
Fiji is an island country in the Pacific Ocean, while Austria, Bolivia and Nepal are all landlocked.
Guess the numberLevel 2
22. Mainland Australia is divided into how many standard time zones?
Answer: 3 time zones
The Australian mainland uses three standard time zones: Western, Central and Eastern.
Multiple choiceLevel 2
23. What is the capital of Australia?
- Canberracorrect
- Sydney
- Melbourne
- Perth
Canberra was planned as a compromise capital between rivals Sydney and Melbourne, and is not the largest city.
Odd one outLevel 2
24. Three of these are island nations in Oceania. Which one is the odd one out?
- Icelandcorrect
- Samoa
- Tonga
- Vanuatu
Samoa, Tonga and Vanuatu are Pacific island nations in Oceania, while Iceland is in the North Atlantic near Europe.

The Americas

Guess the numberLevel 1
25. About how many independent countries are there in the world today?
Answer: 195 countries
There are around 195 countries in the world today.
Build the sentenceLevel 2
26. Build the sentence naming the Caribbean island that Haiti shares with its neighbour.
Answer: Haiti shares Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic
Haiti occupies the western third of Hispaniola, and the Dominican Republic occupies the rest.
Fact or fibLevel 2
27. Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean.
Answer: True
Cuba is the biggest island nation in the Caribbean Sea, larger than Hispaniola or Jamaica.
Choose all that applyLevel 3
28. Bolivia is unusual in having two capital cities. Which two cities share the role?
- Sucrecorrect
- La Pazcorrect
- Santa Cruz
- Cochabamba
Sucre is Bolivia's constitutional capital, while La Paz is the seat of government.
Fill the blankLevel 3
29. The Central American country of ____ was known as British Honduras until 1973.
- Belizecorrect
- Guyana
- Honduras
- Panama
British Honduras was renamed Belize in 1973, six years before full independence.
Match the pairsLevel 3
30. Match each South American country to its capital city.
Answer: Ecuador = Quito; Venezuela = Caracas; Paraguay = Asuncion; Uruguay = Montevideo
Ecuador, Venezuela, Paraguay and Uruguay each have a capital that is easy to mix up.

Where these questions come from. Each unit starts as a plan of the concepts it should cover and the difficulty it should span. Questions are written against that plan with AI assistance, then checked by a validator that rejects anything without a single defensible answer, an explanation, or plausible wrong options. How we write questions sets out the whole process, and corrections are fixed in the bank and reach the site and the app the same day.

How you practise

This unit mixes 16 different question formats, so you are recalling and applying rather than recognising the same layout every time.

Build the sentence
Choose all that apply
Fact or fib
Fill the blank
Guess the number
Listen and choose
Match the pairs
Multiple choice
Odd one out
Picture question
Put in order
Sort into groups
Spell it
Tap the pairs
True or false
Type the answer

Practise Countries and Capitals

120 questions across 20 steps. Start with step one and crawl at your own pace.

Play this unit

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