Everyone knows Paris and Tokyo. This quiz is about the capitals that catch people out — the purpose-built cities, the compromises and the ones that quietly moved. Each answer comes with the story behind it.
Naming capital cities sounds like pure memory work, but the reasons behind them are half the fun. Some capitals are simply the largest city; others were chosen precisely because they were not, to keep the peace between rival regions or to plant a new seat of power on neutral ground. This quiz runs through capitals from every continent, mixing the ones most people know with a few that regularly catch people out. The explanations add the context that makes each answer stick, so instead of drilling a flat list you come away with a mental map that actually holds together. It is a good warm-up for travel, pub quizzes, or simply filling gaps on your world map.
Every question in this quiz is listed below with its correct answer and the reasoning behind it. Play first if you would rather not see the answers — or read through as a study sheet.
Play it insteadAnswer: A. Canberra
Why: Canberra was purpose-built as a compromise between the rivals Sydney and Melbourne, chosen as the site in 1908.
Answer: A. Ottawa
Why: Ottawa was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1857 as a compromise between English- and French-speaking Canada.
Answer: A. Brasília
Why: Brasília was built inland from scratch and became the capital in 1960, replacing Rio de Janeiro.
Answer: B. Ankara
Why: Ankara replaced Istanbul as the capital in 1923 under Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
Answer: B. Wellington
Why: Wellington is the southernmost capital of any sovereign state in the world.
Answer: B. Pretoria
Why: South Africa has three capitals; Pretoria is the executive (administrative) one, alongside Cape Town and Bloemfontein.
Answer: D. Bern
Why: Bern is the de facto capital, known as the "federal city" — not Zurich or Geneva, which are larger and better known.
Answer: D. Rabat
Why: Rabat is the capital, even though Casablanca is the largest city and economic hub.
Answer: A. Astana
Why: Astana replaced Almaty as the capital in 1997. It was renamed Nur-Sultan from 2019 to 2022, then changed back to Astana.
Answer: A. Abuja
Why: Abuja replaced Lagos as the capital in 1991 because of its central location; Lagos remains the largest city.
World Capitals: Can You Name Them All has 10 questions and takes about 8 minutes to finish. It is rated Medium and sits in our Geography category.
Each of the 10 correct answers adds 10 XP, up to 100 XP for a clean run. Wrong answers cost you nothing, and your full question-by-question review is shown at the end.
Yes. All 10 questions carry a written explanation of why the correct answer is right, so the quiz works as a study sheet as well as a test.
Yes, as often as you like. The questions and the answer options are reshuffled on each run, and you can use Practice Mistakes afterwards to retry only the ones you missed. No account is needed to play.
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