The capitals people get wrong most often
A country's capital is not always its largest city. Here are the most frequent traps in geography quizzes.
When the capital is not the best-known city
- Australia: Canberra (not Sydney or Melbourne).
- Turkey: Ankara (not Istanbul).
- Brazil: Brasília (not Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo).
- Canada: Ottawa (not Toronto or Montreal).
- Switzerland: Bern (not Zurich or Geneva).
- New Zealand: Wellington (not Auckland).
- Morocco: Rabat (not Casablanca or Marrakesh).
- Pakistan: Islamabad (not Karachi).
- Nigeria: Abuja (not Lagos).
- Tanzania: Dodoma (not Dar es Salaam).
- Myanmar: Naypyidaw (not Yangon).
- United States: Washington, D.C. (not New York).
- India: New Delhi (not Mumbai).
- Vietnam: Hanoi (not Ho Chi Minh City).
Countries with several capitals or seats
- South Africa: three capitals, Pretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative) and Bloemfontein (judicial).
- Bolivia: Sucre is the constitutional capital, La Paz is the seat of government.
- Côte d'Ivoire: the official capital is Yamoussoukro, Abidjan is the big economic city.
- Netherlands: the capital is Amsterdam, but the government sits in The Hague.
- Benin: Porto-Novo is the official capital, the government sits in Cotonou.
- Sri Lanka: the official capital is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, Colombo is the commercial capital.
For these countries with several seats, our quiz avoids asking for the capital so as not to mislead you.
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