Commonly Confused Countries Conundrum Quiz

Answer: Congo River

The Democratic Republic of Congo, also known as Congo-Kinshasa, or simply DR Congo, is almost seven times larger than its neighboring country, the Republic of Congo, also known as Congo-Brazaville or the Congo Republic. DR Congo borders the Congo Republic to the northwest.

French is the national language of both nations. Congo-Brazzaville was a former French colony, whereas DR Congo was a former Belgian colony.

The capital of the Congo Republic, Brazaville, is located on the north side of the Congo River, whereas the capital of DR Congo, Kinshasa, is situated on the south side of the same river. The two capitals are less than 20 kilometers apart. Congolese and travelers alike can commute between the two countries via cars, boats, or planes.

At 4,700 kilometers, the Congo River is Africa's second longest river, after the Nile (6,650 kilometers).

Answer: Iran was known as Persia, whereas Iraq was known as Mesopotamia.

Occupying an area of 1.65 million square kilometers, Iran is the second largest Middle Eastern country, after Saudi Arabia. In contrast, the landmass occupied by Iraq is approximately four times smaller than that of Iran.

The Persian Empire, also known as Imperial Iran, is a collective term that refers to the numerous imperial Iranian dynasties centered in Iran, dated all the way back to the 6th century BCE.

Mesopotamia refers to the Western Asian region that is situated near the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers.

Answer: Dominican Republic is one of the largest countries in the Caribbean, and it is 65 times larger than Dominica.

Occupying an area of 48,671 square kilometers, the Dominican Republic is the second largest Caribbean nation, after Cuba. In contrast, Dominica's landmass only occupies an area of 751 square kilometers.

The official language of the Dominican Republic is Spanish. On the other hand, the official language of Dominica is English.

Answer: Austria is located south of the equator, whereas Australia is located north of the equator.

The Republic of Austria is located north of the equator, in the Northern Hemisphere, whereas Australia is located south of the equator, in the Southern Hemisphere.

The demonyms used for the two countries also have very similar spellings and pronunciations - Austrians and Australians. Arnold Schwarzenegger is an Austrian, but Chris Hemsworth is an Australian.

In 2016, CNN covered a news that reported Austria would build a fence at the Slovenian border. However, the news network had mistakenly used the wrong graphic, which read "Australia building fence at Slovenian border".

Answer: Niger is a landlocked nation and 80% of its land area is covered by the Sahara desert.

Niger is a landlocked country. It borders seven countries - Algeria, Benin, Burkina-Faso, Chad, Libya, Mali, and Nigeria. The Sahara Desert occupies the northern region of the country.

On the other hand, Nigeria is not a landlocked nation. It borders the Gulf of Guinea to the south. The nation borders four countries - Benin, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.

In 1960, Niger gained its independence from France, whereas Nigeria gained its independence from the UK.

Answer: No, they are not neighboring countries.

The names of Slovakia and Slovenia are equally confusing in their native languages - in Slovak, we have Slovensko and Slovinsko; and in Slovenian, we have Slovaska and Slovenija.

Slovakia is a landlocked nation. It borders Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Ukraine. On the other hand, Slovenia borders Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, and the Adriatic Sea.

Robert Fico, the 4th Prime Minister of Slovakia, resigned in March 2020, following the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak. Miro Cerar, the 8th Prime Minister of Slovenia, also resigned in the same week, following a decision made by the Supreme Court.

In 2017, popular BBC TV show "QI", posted a tweet on its twitter page, which read, "In Washington DC, the Slovakian and Slovenian embassies meet once a month to exchange wrongly addressed mail." The statement was then refuted by officers from both embassies.

Answer: It is one of the few countries that is located completely south of the Tropic of Capricorn.

The two landlocked South American nations are Paraguay and Bolivia.

There are only four countries that are located completely south of the Tropic of Capricorn. They are Eswatini, Lesotho, New Zealand, and Uruguay.

Answer: Landlocked nation

Both Switzerland and Swaziland are landlocked nations. Switzerland is surrounded by Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Liechtenstein, whereas Swaziland is completely surrounded by Mozambique and South Africa.

On 19 April 2018, King Mswati III renamed the country, in conjunction with the nation's 50th anniversary of the nation's independence. Swaziland gained its independence from the UK in 1968.

King Mswati III commented that the main reason behind the name changing was to revert the nation's name to its ancient, native name.

Answer: Mauritius is an island nation, whereas Mauritania is located on the African mainland.

Mauritania is located in Northwest Africa, and 90% of the nation is covered by the Sahara Desert. On the other hand, Mauritius is an island nation that is located in the Indian Ocean, near Madagascar and the Seychelles.

Mauritania is the 11th largest African nation, after Algeria, DR Congo, Sudan, Libya, Chad, Niger, Angola, Mali, South Africa, and Ethiopia. In contrast, Mauritius is Africa's third smallest nation, after Seychelles and São Tomé and Príncipe.

Answer: Papua New Guinea

Guinea (known formerly as French Guinea) and Guinea-Bissau are located in West Africa. Equatorial Guinea, a former colony of Spanish Guinea, is located in Central Africa. Papua New Guinea (PNG), on the other hand, is located in Oceania. PNG occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, with Indonesia occupying the western half of the island.

In terms of area, PNG is a relatively big nation, compared to the three African nations. Occupying an area of 462,840 square kilometers, PNG is bigger than the three African nations combined.