Island Nations Trivia Quiz

Answer: Iceland

Aside from giving us the word 'geyser', the thriving democracy of Iceland is probably best known for pop singer, Bjork. Its roughly 320,000 inhabitants live off geothermal power as a result of the island's ceaseless seismic activity.

Some of its other remarkable features are Europe's greatest waterfall, known as 'Dettifoss', and the island of Surtsey which was born from the ocean between 1963 and 1968!

Answer: Grenada

Known as "The Spice Isle", Grenada produces large quantities of spices, including nutmeg, cinnamon and allspice. It is also a popular tourist destination.

The U.S. invasion is still quite controversial today with many people considering it to have been unnecessary.

Answer: New Zealand

The islands of New Zealand are occupied by some of the strangest creatures on the planet.
The kakapo is a highly endangered species of flightless parrot which is now only found on certain outlying islands. There are only about 90 left alive! They are the object of an intense ecological campaign to save them. Each bird is named and individually monitored and protected.
The tuatara is a New Zealand lizard that has a third eye hidden beneath the skin of its forehead. The function of this eye is unknown.
The kiwi (bird, not fruit) is a diminutive relative of the Australian emu that lays proportionately enormous eggs. New Zealanders get their nickname from this flightless bird. Interestingly, the kiwifruit also takes its name from the bird. As the result of a large marketing campaign, New Zealand kiwifruit producers successfully gave the name of their small brown furry bird to this delicious small brown furry fruit which had previously been known to Europeans as the Chinese gooseberry.

The hugely popular "Lord of the Rings" movies, with their ferocious Orcs, were filmed in New Zealand.

Answer: Tonga

Tonga, which lies to the east of Fiji and south of Samoa, is the only monarchy in the Pacific. King Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, who reigned from 1965 till his death in 2006, was noted for being the 'heaviest' monarch in the world! The isles of Tonga were given the sobriquet, "The Friendly Islands" after the friendly reception Captain James Cook was met with in 1773.

"A turtle which explorer Captain Cook gave to the king of Tonga in 1777 died yesterday. It was nearly 200 years old. The animal, called Tu'imalila, died at the royal palace ground in the capital of Nuku'alofa..." - Reuters, 1966
(from the frontispiece of "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep" (aka Bladerunner) by Philip K. Dick).

Answer: Cyprus

The northern part of Cyprus is essentially an enclave for Turkish Cypriots while the south is home to the majority Greek Cypriots. A U.N. occupied 'buffer zone' exists between the two halves. The situation on Cyprus is a constant source of tension between the Greek and Turkish governments.
Seemingly oblivious to all this, tourists flock to the island for its climate, beaches, and ancient historical ruins.

Answer: Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago has a large petrochemical industry and is the number one supplier of liquefied natural gas to the U.S. This seems at odds with the image of an idyllic Caribbean tourist magnet with tropical forests and pristine beaches!

Answer: Madagascar

Lemurs are prosimian primates found only on Madagascar. The aye-aye is a relative of the lemur that has one long, spindly, middle finger three times longer than the others, which it uses to draw out bugs from holes it bores into wood. The fossa is a meat-eating creature similar to a civet cat or mongoose.
Madagascar's unique wildlife came about because it broke away from Gondwana providing a haven for unique species that became extinct on mainland Africa.

Answer: Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste is the official name for the country often referred to as 'East Timor'. As its name suggests, it occupies the eastern half of the island of Timor, located amongst the islands of Indonesia. It has had a difficult history and road to independence. Things haven't been easy since, either. Rioting, the attempted assassination of President Jose Ramos-Horta, and the presence of Australian peace-keeping forces have marked its so far brief life as an independent nation.

Answer: 6

Not including Reunion, which is a 'departement' of France, or any other islands owned or administered by other countries, there are six independent island nations considered to be part of Africa.
They are: Cape Verde; Comoros; Madagascar; Mauritius; Sao Tome and Principe; and The Seychelles.

Answer: Comoros

The small Indian Ocean nation of Comoros is one of the poorest countries in the world. Aside from the prehistoric coelacanth, first found in 1938 near South Africa, and previously only known from fossils, Comoros is also a large producer of vanilla.