The Hardest World Capitals to Guess

Most people can name London, Paris, and Tokyo. But how well do you know the capitals of Nauru, Bhutan, or Kazakhstan? World capitals are one of the most deceptively tricky geography categories — even experts frequently get them wrong when countries rename their capitals, pick a secondary city, or have capitals few people have heard of.

Here are some of the world's hardest capital cities, grouped by the reason they're so easy to get wrong.

Not the Biggest City

One of the most common traps: assuming the capital is the largest or most famous city in a country. In many cases, that's simply not true.

• AustraliaCanberraNot Sydney or Melbourne
• BrazilBrasíliaNot Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo
• CanadaOttawaNot Toronto or Vancouver
• South AfricaPretoria (executive)Cape Town is the legislative capital
• IndiaNew DelhiNot Mumbai or Kolkata

Capitals Most People Have Never Heard Of

Some capitals are essentially unknown outside their own countries — tiny cities serving as the administrative center of a small or remote nation.

• NauruYaren (de facto)No official capital; smallest country by area
• BhutanThimphuHigh in the Himalayas, one of the least-visited countries
• PalauNgerulmudOne of the least-known capitals on Earth
• KiribatiSouth TarawaPacific island nation with a complex geography
• TurkmenistanAshgabatOften confused with other Central Asian capitals

Countries That Changed Their Capital

Some countries moved their capitals — sometimes recently — making it easy to give the old answer.

• KazakhstanAstanaWas Almaty until 1997, renamed several times since
• MyanmarNaypyidawMoved from Yangon in 2006
• Côte d'IvoireYamoussoukroOfficial capital since 1983; Abidjan is still the economic hub
• NigeriaAbujaMoved from Lagos in 1991
• TanzaniaDodomaDesignated capital since 1974; Dar es Salaam remains largest city

Countries With Multiple Capitals

A handful of countries split government functions between two or more cities — making the "correct" answer depend on what you're actually asking about.

• South Africa3 capitalsPretoria (executive), Cape Town (legislative), Bloemfontein (judicial)
• Bolivia2 capitalsSucre (constitutional), La Paz (seat of government)
• Eswatini2 capitalsMbabane (administrative), Lobamba (royal and legislative)

Central Asian Capitals — Easy to Mix Up

The five "stan" countries of Central Asia all have capitals that are unfamiliar to most people, and easy to confuse with one another.

• KazakhstanAstana
• UzbekistanTashkent
• KyrgyzstanBishkek
• TajikistanDushanbe
• TurkmenistanAshgabat

Think You Know Your Capitals?

The Capital Quiz on Geo Trivia covers all 195 countries in the world, plus all 50 US states. You can play in multiple-choice mode to build familiarity, or challenge yourself with type-in mode for a real test. Every round is different, so the more you play, the more of the world you'll know.