1. What is the capital of Australia?Sydney Melbourne Canberra Perth
Canberra was built as a planned capital to settle the rivalry between Sydney and Melbourne.
2. What is the capital of Brazil?Rio de Janeiro Brasilia Sao Paulo Salvador
Brasilia took over from Rio de Janeiro in 1960.
3. What is the capital of Turkey (Turkiye)?Istanbul Izmir Antalya Ankara
Ankara has been the capital since the republic was founded in 1923, even though Istanbul is far bigger.
4. Which city is the capital of Kazakhstan?Almaty Astana Tashkent Bishkek
Astana has been the capital since 1997. It was briefly called Nur-Sultan from 2019 to 2022.
5. Which country has a white flag with a single red disc in the centre?Japan Bangladesh Palau South Korea
Japan's flag shows a red sun on a white field. Bangladesh and Palau use a disc too, but on green and blue.
6. Which country's flag is red with a white cross that reaches the edges, set closer to the pole?Switzerland Norway Denmark England
That is Denmark's Dannebrog, often called the oldest national flag still in use. Switzerland's cross does not touch the edges.
7. What is the largest country in the world by area?Canada China United States Russia
Russia covers about 17.1 million square km, far ahead of second-placed Canada.
8. What is the smallest country in the world?Monaco San Marino Vatican City Liechtenstein
Vatican City covers about half a square kilometre inside Rome.
9. Which country is tied with Russia for the most land neighbours, with 14?Brazil China Germany India
China borders 14 countries. Brazil has 10 neighbours and Germany 9.
10. Which two South American countries do not share a border with Brazil?Chile and Ecuador Peru and Bolivia Uruguay and Paraguay Colombia and Venezuela
Brazil touches every other country in South America except Chile and Ecuador.
11. Lesotho is completely surrounded by which country?Botswana Namibia Zimbabwe South Africa
Lesotho is an enclave inside South Africa, and every part of it sits above 1,000 m.
12. Which country has had the largest population since 2023?China India United States Indonesia
UN figures show India passing China in 2023, with more than 1.4 billion people.
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Got them all? If the capitals tripped you up, you are in good company: Canberra, Brasilia, Ankara and Astana are all planned or chosen capitals, picked for politics or geography rather than size. Our country pages, like Chile and Iceland, dig into how land shapes the way people live.
