Capital Cities of the World: A-J Quiz

Answer: Abuja

Lagos is the largest and most populous city in Nigeria and was the capital from 1914-1991. Abuja is a planned city and became the state capital on December 12, 1991. Abuja was built during the 1980s and is located in the centre of Nigeria and has become the fourth most populous city in Nigeria.

After it was built, most countries moved their embassies to Abuja and maintained a consulate in Lagos.

Answer: Gaborone

Gaborone was planned to be the capital city of Botswana in the 1960s, when the country gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1966. The country was formerly known as Bechuanaland under British protectorate. The city was chosen to be the capital because it was close to fresh water and had no tribal affiliations.

Answer: Conakry

Conakry is a port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is the largest city in Guinea which sits on the west coast of Africa. Conakry became the capital of French Guinea in 1904 and has remained as the capital when the country gained independence and was renamed Guinea in 1958.

Answer: Islamabad

Although the capital city, it is only the 10th largest city in population in Pakistan. It is the political seat of Pakistan and was built and then founded in 1960 to replace Karachi as the capital of Pakistan. The city is home to the National Monument and also the Faisal Mosque, which is the largest mosque in southern Asia.

Answer: Edinburgh

Edinburgh was founded prior to the seventh century and gained status as a town (burgh) in 1125. It gained city status in 1889. It is the second most populous city in Scotland after Glasgow. It became the national capital of Scotland in 1437.

Answer: Freetown

Freetown is a major port city on the Atlantic Ocean and is the largest city in Sierra Leone. Freetown was founded in 1792 as a land for freed African American and West Indian slaves. The African American slaves had sought refuge with the British during the American Revolutionary War and were brought there by Thomas Peters, himself an ex-slave.

Answer: Belmopan

Belmopan is the smallest capital city in the Americas with regard to population, which is around 20,000. Belize was formerly known as British Honduras and Belize City was the capital. Belmopan was a planned community and became the capital city in 1970. When designing the country's National Assembly Building the decision was taken to build it to resemble a Pre-Columbian Mayan temple.

Answer: Helsinki

Helsinki is the largest city in Finland with an urban population of 1.2m. It was established as a trading town in 1550 and has been the capital city since 1812. Prior to that, the capital of Finland was Turku on the south-west coast of Finland. Helsinki was bombed by Russia during the Winter War of 1939-40 and also hosted the 1952 Olympic Games.

Helsinki is known as the "Daughter of the Baltic" located on a peninsula, on 315 islands and with over 11,000 boat berths.

Answer: Dhaka

Dhaka is not only the capital city of Bangladesh but is also one of the most populated cities in the world with an estimated population of 17 million. Dhaka is an ancient city and has been a capital city since 1608 under various regimes but officially became the capital of Bangladesh when independence was gained in 1971.

The current spelling of the city was adopted in 1983 as before that it was known as Dacca.

Answer: Jakarta

Jakarta is the capital and the most populous city in Indonesia. The city was established in the fourth century. The city was known as Batavia during the Dutch East Indies times. It has continued to be the capital since the country gained independence in 1945. From 1942-1972 the city was known as Djakarta but from 1972 as Jakarta.