Asia
| Country | Capital | Country | Capital |
|---|---|---|---|
| India | New Delhi | China | Beijing |
| Japan | Tokyo | Indonesia | Jakarta |
| Pakistan | Islamabad | Bangladesh | Dhaka |
| Nepal | Kathmandu | Bhutan | Thimphu |
| Sri Lanka | Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte | Myanmar | Naypyidaw |
| Thailand | Bangkok | Vietnam | Hanoi |
| Malaysia | Kuala Lumpur | Philippines | Manila |
| South Korea | Seoul | North Korea | Pyongyang |
| Afghanistan | Kabul | Iran | Tehran |
| Iraq | Baghdad | Saudi Arabia | Riyadh |
| United Arab Emirates | Abu Dhabi | Turkey | Ankara |
| Kazakhstan | Astana | Uzbekistan | Tashkent |
- ✓Sri Lanka's official and legislative capital is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, while Colombo is its commercial capital and largest city - a very common quiz question.
- ✓Malaysia's capital is Kuala Lumpur, but Putrajaya is the administrative centre where the federal government sits.
- ✓Abu Dhabi, not Dubai, is the capital of the United Arab Emirates.
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Europe
| Country | Capital | Country | Capital |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | London | France | Paris |
| Germany | Berlin | Italy | Rome |
| Spain | Madrid | Portugal | Lisbon |
| Netherlands | Amsterdam | Belgium | Brussels |
| Switzerland | Bern | Austria | Vienna |
| Sweden | Stockholm | Norway | Oslo |
| Denmark | Copenhagen | Finland | Helsinki |
| Poland | Warsaw | Greece | Athens |
| Russia | Moscow | Ukraine | Kyiv |
| Ireland | Dublin | Czechia | Prague |
| Hungary | Budapest | Romania | Bucharest |
- ✓The Netherlands is the classic split case: Amsterdam is the constitutional capital, but the government, parliament and supreme court sit in The Hague.
- ✓Switzerland's capital is Bern, not Zurich or Geneva - both of which are larger or better known internationally.
- ✓Vatican City, entirely within Rome, is the smallest country in the world by both area and population.
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Africa and the Americas
| Country | Capital | Country | Capital |
|---|---|---|---|
| Egypt | Cairo | Nigeria | Abuja |
| Kenya | Nairobi | Ethiopia | Addis Ababa |
| Morocco | Rabat | Ghana | Accra |
| Tanzania | Dodoma | Algeria | Algiers |
| United States | Washington, D.C. | Canada | Ottawa |
| Mexico | Mexico City | Brazil | Brasília |
| Argentina | Buenos Aires | Chile | Santiago |
| Peru | Lima | Colombia | Bogotá |
| Venezuela | Caracas | Cuba | Havana |
| Ecuador | Quito | Uruguay | Montevideo |
- ✓Nigeria moved its capital from Lagos to the purpose-built city of Abuja; Lagos remains far larger.
- ✓Tanzania's official capital is Dodoma, though Dar es Salaam is the largest city and commercial centre.
- ✓Morocco's capital is Rabat, not Casablanca, which is the bigger and more famous city.
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The trick questions: capital is not the largest city
Almost every capital-city question that catches people out belongs to this category. Learn these pairs and you will get the majority of hard capital questions right.
| Country | Capital | Largest or best-known city |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | Canberra | Sydney |
| United States | Washington, D.C. | New York City |
| Brazil | Brasília | São Paulo |
| Turkey | Ankara | Istanbul |
| Canada | Ottawa | Toronto |
| Switzerland | Bern | Zurich |
| Nigeria | Abuja | Lagos |
| Myanmar | Naypyidaw | Yangon |
| Tanzania | Dodoma | Dar es Salaam |
| Morocco | Rabat | Casablanca |
| New Zealand | Wellington | Auckland |
| Vietnam | Hanoi | Ho Chi Minh City |
| Pakistan | Islamabad | Karachi |
- ✓Several of these are purpose-built capitals - Canberra, Brasília, Abuja, Naypyidaw, Islamabad - created precisely so that no existing major city would dominate. That shared history makes them easier to remember as a group.
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Countries with more than one capital
Which country has three capitals, and what does each do?
South Africa. Pretoria is the executive capital and seat of government, Cape Town the legislative capital where parliament sits, and Bloemfontein the judicial capital. It is the single most-asked multi-capital question.
What are Bolivia's two capitals?
Sucre is the constitutional capital and seat of the judiciary, while La Paz is the seat of government and hosts the executive and legislature.
Why do quizzes distinguish Amsterdam and The Hague?
Because Amsterdam is the constitutional capital of the Netherlands while The Hague is the seat of government, home to parliament, the supreme court and many international institutions.
Which country changed the name of its capital city in recent years?
Kazakhstan's capital has been renamed more than once, and is currently Astana. Renamed capitals are a favourite quiz topic precisely because outdated answers persist in old material.
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How to memorise capitals fast
- ✓Learn by region, never alphabetically. Grouping by continent gives your memory a spatial structure to attach names to.
- ✓Do the exceptions first. The thirteen 'capital is not the largest city' pairs above account for most of the difficulty, so learning them front-loads your accuracy.
- ✓Group the purpose-built capitals - Canberra, Brasília, Abuja, Naypyidaw, Islamabad - as one memory item with a shared explanation.
- ✓Add the country's flag, currency or a landmark alongside the capital. Related facts learnt together reinforce one another rather than competing.
- ✓Test in both directions: country to capital, and capital to country. Recognition in one direction does not guarantee the other, and quizzes ask both.
- ✓Watch for renames. Old lists carry outdated names, so verify anything you learnt years ago.
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