Question 1 of 20Name the capitalEasy
African capitals quiz
Africa has more than 50 capital cities, and plenty of them catch out confident quizzers. Watch for big-city traps, old colonial names and a few surprising stories in these 20 questions.
A free quiz from Megan Moran, author of The Mighty Geography Quiz Book.
Question 2 of 20Name the capitalEasy
What is the capital of Algeria?
Question 3 of 20Rivers and coastsMedium
Which capital city sits on the peninsula that forms the westernmost point of mainland Africa?
Question 4 of 20Name the capitalEasy
Which city is the capital of Ghana?
Question 5 of 20Renamed and movedHard
Which city replaced Zomba as the capital of Malawi in 1975?
Question 6 of 20Name the capitalMedium
What is the capital of Madagascar?
Question 7 of 20Name the capitalEasy
What is the capital city of Tunisia?
Question 8 of 20Names and meaningsMedium
Which African capital is named after a president of the United States?
Question 9 of 20Renamed and movedHard
N'Djamena, known as Fort-Lamy until the 1970s, is the capital of which country?
Question 10 of 20Name the capitalEasy
What is the capital of Zimbabwe?
Question 11 of 20Name the capitalMedium
What is the capital of Cameroon?
Question 12 of 20Name the capitalMedium
What is the capital city of Namibia?
Question 13 of 20Record breakersHard
Which African capital was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017 as 'A Modernist African City'?
Question 14 of 20Name the capitalEasy
Which city is the capital of Uganda?
Question 15 of 20Renamed and movedMedium
Which capital city was known as Lourenço Marques until 1976?
Question 16 of 20Name the capitalMedium
What is the capital of Mali?
Question 17 of 20Name the countryHard
Ouagadougou is the capital of which country?
Question 18 of 20Name the countryMedium
Gaborone is the capital of which country?
Question 19 of 20Name the countryHard
Victoria is the capital of which Indian Ocean island nation?
Question 20 of 20Name the countryMedium
Kigali is the capital of which country?
Answer all 20 to see your score.
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Show all the answers, with the facts behind them
- What is the capital city of Kenya? NairobiIts name comes from the Maasai phrase Enkare Nyirobi, 'place of cool waters'. Giraffes and lions roam Nairobi National Park inside the city's boundaries.
- What is the capital of Algeria? AlgiersIts hillside Kasbah, a historic medina of mosques, Ottoman-era palaces and narrow lanes, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992.
- Which capital city sits on the peninsula that forms the westernmost point of mainland Africa? DakarOff its coast lies Gorée Island, a former slave-trading center that was among the first places listed as UNESCO World Heritage, in 1978.
- Which city is the capital of Ghana? AccraIts name comes from the Akan word Nkran, meaning 'ants'. It replaced Cape Coast as capital of the British Gold Coast in 1877.
- Which city replaced Zomba as the capital of Malawi in 1975? LilongweThe city takes its name from the Lilongwe River, which flows through it.
- What is the capital of Madagascar? AntananarivoIts name means 'City of the Thousand', honoring the thousand soldiers said to have guarded the hilltop site for King Andrianjaka.
- What is the capital city of Tunisia? TunisIts medina, founded in the late 7th century and home to some 700 historic monuments, became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1979.
- Which African capital is named after a president of the United States? MonroviaIt was founded in 1822 by the American Colonization Society as a settlement for freed African Americans, and honors James Monroe, the fifth president.
- N'Djamena, known as Fort-Lamy until the 1970s, is the capital of which country? ChadThe city stands where the Logone River meets the Chari, facing the Cameroonian town of Kousséri across the water.
- What is the capital of Zimbabwe? HarareUntil 18 April 1982 it was called Salisbury, after the British prime minister Lord Salisbury.
- What is the capital of Cameroon? YaoundéGerman explorers set it up as an outpost in the late 1880s, at the northern edge of the forests between the Nyong and Sanaga rivers.
- What is the capital city of Namibia? WindhoekIt sits about 1,650 m (5,400 ft) up. Its name is often explained as Afrikaans for 'windy corner', though it may honor South Africa's Winterhoek mountains.
- Which African capital was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2017 as 'A Modernist African City'? AsmaraIts Fiat Tagliero service station, completed in 1938, was designed to look like an airplane, with huge cantilevered concrete wings.
- Which city is the capital of Uganda? KampalaThe city was originally built on seven hills but has long since spread beyond them, down to the shores of Lake Victoria.
- Which capital city was known as Lourenço Marques until 1976? MaputoThe old name honored Lourenço Marques, a Portuguese trader who explored the area in 1544.
- What is the capital of Mali? BamakoIts name is usually translated as 'crocodile river', and the city stands on the banks of the River Niger.
- Ouagadougou is the capital of which country? Burkina FasoIt hosts FESPACO, a pan-African film festival founded in 1969 and held every two years, often described as Africa's largest film festival.
- Gaborone is the capital of which country? BotswanaThe city is named after Chief Gaborone of the Tlokwa people. The modern town was only founded in 1964, two years before independence.
- Victoria is the capital of which Indian Ocean island nation? SeychellesAmong the world's smallest capitals, it has a silver clock tower, known locally as Lorloz, modelled on Little Ben in London and unveiled in 1903.
- Kigali is the capital of which country? RwandaOn the last Saturday of each month Rwandans aged 18 to 65 join umuganda, a morning of compulsory community work. Kigali is often called Africa's cleanest city.
