Countries and capitals: a list of world capitals by continent

How to memorize the world capitals

1. Go continent by continent: start with one continent instead of all 192 capitals. When you pick a continent in the game, only its countries are asked.
2. Go from easy to hard: in a 10-question round the questions are sorted from easy to hard, so you warm up with familiar countries first.
3. Ask both ways: "Country › Capital" and "Capital › Country" are different skills. Knowing a capital does not guarantee you will recall its country when you hear the name.
4. Go back to your mistakes: the Practice your mistakes button at the end of a round builds a new round from the countries you got wrong.
5. Learn the traps separately: a country's best-known city is not always its capital. The "Commonly confused capitals" list below collects them.
6. Lock it in with a full round: once a continent feels solid, play a Full round with all of its countries.

Countries and capitals of Europe

The Europe table has 46 countries. In the game, Türkiye and Russia are asked under both Europe and Asia, so they appear in both tables.

Countries and capitals of Asia

The Asia table has 46 countries. The game groups continents by the UN regions; the Caucasus countries count as Asia.

Countries and capitals of Africa

The Africa table has 54 countries, more than any other continent.

Countries and capitals of the Americas

In the game, North, Central and South America and the Caribbean are asked as one continent, the "Americas". The table has 35 countries.

Countries and capitals of Oceania

The Oceania table has 13 countries: Australia, New Zealand and the island countries of the Pacific. The island countries are so small on the map that the game's Map mode marks them with a dashed ring.

Commonly confused capitals

In these countries the capital is often mixed up with a better-known city. When you answer wrongly in the game, the card shows the same notes.

• Türkiye: Ankara, not Istanbul. Ankara became the capital on 13 October 1923.
• Australia: Canberra, not Sydney. Canberra was built as a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne.
• Canada: Ottawa, not Toronto.
• United States: Washington, D.C., not New York.
• Switzerland: Bern, not Zurich or Geneva. Officially Bern is called the "federal city"; the government and parliament sit there.
• New Zealand: Wellington, not Auckland.
• Brazil: Brasília, not Rio de Janeiro.
• Nigeria: Abuja, not Lagos.
• Kazakhstan: Astana, not Almaty.
• Myanmar: Naypyidaw, not Yangon.
• Morocco: Rabat, not Casablanca.
• Pakistan: Islamabad, not Karachi.
• Vietnam: Hanoi, not Ho Chi Minh City.
• United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi, not Dubai.
• Ecuador: Quito, not Guayaquil.
• Belize: Belmopan, not Belize City.
• India: New Delhi. Mumbai is one of its largest cities but not the capital.

Countries with more than one capital

In some countries the roles of a capital are shared between several cities. The tables list the main capital; the game asks only that one and never shows the other city as a wrong option.

• South Africa: three capitals. The government sits in Pretoria, parliament in Cape Town and the supreme court in Bloemfontein. The game asks for Pretoria.
• Bolivia: the constitutional capital is Sucre; the government and parliament sit in La Paz.
• Netherlands: the capital is Amsterdam; the government and parliament sit in The Hague.
• Malaysia: the capital is Kuala Lumpur; the seat of government is Putrajaya.
• Benin: the official capital is Porto-Novo; most of the government works in Cotonou.
• Eswatini: the administrative capital is Mbabane; the royal seat and parliament are in Lobamba.
• Yemen: the constitutional capital is Sanaa; the recognized government is currently based in Aden.
• Indonesia: the capital is Jakarta. A new capital, Nusantara, is being built, but the move is not official yet.

There are also countries whose capital is not their largest city: Tanzania's capital is Dodoma and its largest city Dar es Salaam; Côte d'Ivoire's official capital is Yamoussoukro and its largest city Abidjan; Sri Lanka's capital is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte and its largest city Colombo.

Countries that moved their capital

An old atlas or book may still show the former capital of these countries; the game asks for the current ones.

• Türkiye: Ankara became the capital on 13 October 1923.
• Brazil: Brasília instead of Rio de Janeiro, 1960.
• Belize: Belmopan instead of Belize City, 1970.
• Côte d'Ivoire: Yamoussoukro became the official capital in 1983.
• Nigeria: Abuja instead of Lagos, 1991.
• Kazakhstan: Astana instead of Almaty, 1997.
• Myanmar: Naypyidaw instead of Yangon; the government moved in 2005.
• Burundi: Gitega instead of Bujumbura, 2019. Bujumbura is still the largest city.
• Equatorial Guinea: Ciudad de la Paz instead of Malabo, January 2026.

How do you play the Capitals Quiz?

First you choose the direction: Country › Capital (the country's name and a small flag, 4 capitals to choose from) or Capital › Country (the capital's name, 4 countries to choose from). Then you pick a continent (All, Europe, Asia, Africa, Americas, Oceania) and a length: 10 questions sorted from easy to hard, or a Full round with every country of that continent. The wrong options mostly come from the same continent and from countries that are about as well known.

• A correct answer is worth 100 points; answer within 3 seconds for a +50 speed bonus, which shrinks until 10 seconds.
• Streak: every 5 correct answers in a row add 0.2 to the multiplier (5 correct ×1.2, 10 correct ×1.4), up to ×2. A wrong answer resets the streak.
• A wrong answer opens a learning card: the correct answer (flag, country, capital, continent), your choice and a short note when there is one.
• The 50/50 joker removes two wrong options. You get 2 free per round; after that you can watch an ad for 2 more if you like.
• At the end of the round you get stars (3 stars for 90% or more right on the first try, 2 stars for 70% or more), your score, your time and a "Worth another look" list.

Common mistakes

• Taking a country's best-known city for its capital: Sydney, Toronto, Istanbul and Casablanca are not capitals.
• Practising only one direction: doing well in "Country › Capital" rounds does not mean you also know the "Capital › Country" questions; play both.
• Giving the old capital: Burundi's capital has been Gitega since 2019, and Equatorial Guinea's has been Ciudad de la Paz since January 2026.
• Taking the seat of government for the capital: in the Netherlands the government sits in The Hague but the capital is Amsterdam; in Bolivia the government sits in La Paz but the constitutional capital is Sucre.
• Guessing for speed: the speed bonus lasts only a few seconds, while a wrong answer resets your streak and multiplier.