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World Capitals Quiz: 15 Capital City Questions With Answers
Capital cities are among the most common questions in the Bing Quiz, and the tricky ones are usually not the biggest city in the country. This world capitals quiz has 15 questions, with the story behind each answer.
Many of these capitals were chosen as a compromise between rival cities or built from scratch, which is exactly why they catch people out.
Play the World Capitals Quiz
Pick A, B or C for each question. The right answer turns green and a short fact explains it.
World Capitals Quiz Questions and Answers
Every question with its answer and explanation. Open “Show answer” after you guess.
1 What is the capital of Australia?
- A Canberra
- B Sydney
- C Melbourne
Show answer
✓ Answer: A. Canberra
Did you know? Canberra was purpose-built as a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne.
2 What is the capital of Canada?
- A Ottawa
- B Montreal
- C Toronto
Show answer
✓ Answer: A. Ottawa
Did you know? Queen Victoria chose Ottawa in 1857.
3 What is the capital of Brazil?
- A São Paulo
- B Brasília
- C Rio de Janeiro
Show answer
✓ Answer: B. Brasília
Did you know? Brasília was inaugurated in 1960 and designed by Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer.
4 What is the capital of Turkey?
- A Istanbul
- B Ankara
- C Izmir
Show answer
✓ Answer: B. Ankara
Did you know? Atatürk made Ankara the capital of the new republic in 1923.
5 What is the capital of Nigeria?
- A Lagos
- B Abuja
- C Kano
Show answer
✓ Answer: B. Abuja
Did you know? Abuja officially replaced Lagos as capital in 1991.
6 What is the capital of Morocco?
- A Casablanca
- B Marrakesh
- C Rabat
Show answer
✓ Answer: C. Rabat
Did you know? Casablanca is the largest city, but Rabat is the capital.
7 What is the capital of Switzerland's federal government?
- A Geneva
- B Bern
- C Zurich
Show answer
✓ Answer: B. Bern
Did you know? Bern is officially the 'federal city'.
8 What is the capital of New Zealand?
- A Auckland
- B Wellington
- C Christchurch
Show answer
✓ Answer: B. Wellington
Did you know? Wellington is the world's southernmost capital of a sovereign state.
9 What is the capital of Vietnam?
- A Ho Chi Minh City
- B Hanoi
- C Da Nang
Show answer
✓ Answer: B. Hanoi
Did you know? Hanoi celebrated its 1,000th anniversary as a capital city in 2010.
10 What is the capital of Pakistan?
- A Karachi
- B Islamabad
- C Lahore
Show answer
✓ Answer: B. Islamabad
Did you know? Islamabad was built in the 1960s to replace Karachi.
11 What is the capital of Kazakhstan?
- A Almaty
- B Astana
- C Shymkent
Show answer
✓ Answer: B. Astana
Did you know? The capital moved from Almaty to Astana in 1997.
12 Which country has three capital cities?
- A Netherlands
- B Bolivia
- C South Africa
Show answer
✓ Answer: C. South Africa
Did you know? Pretoria, Cape Town and Bloemfontein share the roles.
13 What is the capital of Myanmar?
- A Naypyidaw
- B Mandalay
- C Yangon
Show answer
✓ Answer: A. Naypyidaw
Did you know? The government moved to Naypyidaw in 2005–2006.
14 What is the capital of Egypt?
- A Luxor
- B Cairo
- C Alexandria
Show answer
✓ Answer: B. Cairo
Did you know? Cairo is the largest city in the Arab world.
15 What is the capital of South Korea?
- A Seoul
- B Busan
- C Incheon
Show answer
✓ Answer: A. Seoul
Did you know? About half of South Korea's population lives in the Seoul metropolitan area.
Why so many capitals are not the biggest city
Several countries deliberately placed their capital away from the largest city. Australia built Canberra as a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne; Brazil moved its capital inland to the purpose-built Brasília in 1960 to develop the interior; Nigeria moved from Lagos to the more central Abuja in 1991; and Kazakhstan moved its capital north to Astana in 1997.
Other capitals were chosen for history or politics: Turkey's founder Atatürk chose Ankara over Istanbul in 1923, and Queen Victoria picked Ottawa for Canada partly because it lay between English- and French-speaking regions.
More geography practice
Keep going with the US States Quiz, the Geography Quiz or country quizzes such as New Zealand, Spain and Switzerland.
World Capitals Quiz FAQ
What is the capital of Australia?
Canberra, not Sydney. It was chosen as a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne.
Which country has three capital cities?
South Africa: Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative) and Bloemfontein (judicial).
What is the capital of Brazil?
Brasília, a planned city inaugurated in 1960. Rio de Janeiro was the capital before that.