It's Not Just a City - It's a Megacity! Quiz

Answer: Turkey

The city in question is, of course, Istanbul - a place that needs no introduction. The world's largest transcontinental city, built on both sides of the Bosporus, the strait that separates Europe and Asia, the former capital of two empires (Byzantine and Ottoman) may have been denied the status of Turkey's capital in favour of Ankara, but it is still one of the Old World's undisputed cultural and historic icons, as well as Turkey's foremost economic centre.

The Turkish name "Istanbul", which replaced the previous names of Byzantium and Constantinople, is very probably derived from a Greek phrase meaning "to the city". Home to over 15 million people, the metropolitan municipality of Istanbul is the world's fourth-largest city proper; about two-thirds of its population reside on the European side of the city, which is also its commercial and historical centre.

Answer: Moscow

Founded some time during the 12th century, Moscow lost its status of capital of Russia in the early 18th century, and regained it after the October Revolution of 1917. Its population has steadily grown over the past 100 years, reaching well over 10 million in the early 21st century. A bustling, cosmopolitan city, Moscow is the epitome of the sprawling metropolis, having recently gained the status of largest city on the European continent by area. The political and cultural centre of the city is the world-famous Red Square (a UNESCO World Heritage site), dominated by the imposing mass of the Kremlin, the royal citadel and seat of government, and the graceful, multicoloured domes of St Basil's Cathedral. Moscow's metro system is one of the world's largest, and its 222 stations are famous for their stunning architecture.

Though smaller than Moscow, the metropolitan areas of London and Paris also qualify as megacities. Berlin, on the other hand, does not, though the fifth European megacity is found in Germany: the polycentric Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region, which includes the cities of Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund and Essen.

Answer: Java

Officially the Special Capital Region of Jakarta, the Indonesian capital is located on the northwest coast of the island of Java, which - though smaller than Borneo, Sumatra or New Guinea (whose western half is also part of Indonesia) - is the world's most populous island. Founded in the 4th century AD as Sunda Kelapa, Jakarta came to be known as Batavia under Dutch rule. Nicknamed "the Big Durian" (a strong-smelling fruit native to Southeast Asia), this enormous city is a thriving economic and cultural centre, a veritable magnet for people from the Indo-Pacific region.

Unfortunately, Jakarta's success has also proved to be detrimental to the city's well-being, as rapid population growth has caused severe environmental problems. The city is rapidly sinking, making it especially prone to flooding (exacerbated by rising sea levels); because of that, it has been announced that the capital of Indonesia will be moved to the province of East Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo. Construction of the new capital is expected to begin in 2020.

Answer: Chongqing

Chongqing (also spelled Chungking) may not be as well-known in the West as Beijing or Shanghai: however, it has a long and distinguished history, and in the past few decades has become a powerhouse that is hard to ignore. Just to put things into perspective, its administrative municipality occupies an area as large as the whole country of Austria. Like Beijing, Shanghai and Tianjin, the municipality of Chongqing is directly under the administration of China's central government; until 1997, it was part of the Sichuan province. Unlike the cities listed as incorrect choices - which are all major ports located on the coast - Chongqing lies inland, in the southwestern part of China, between the Tibetan Plateau and the Yangtze River (of which the Jialing, the river that runs through the city, is a tributary). Chongqing's humid climate makes it prone to dense fog, and its long, hot summers can be particularly oppressive; in fact, the city is one of China's "Three Furnaces".

Modern Chongqing is an important centre for China's automotive industry, as well as one of the country's foremost river ports, and a major transport hub.

Answer: Pakistan

Located on the Arabian Sea, in the southeastern province of Sindh (whose capital it also is), Karachi is not only Pakistan's most populous city, but also the country's foremost industrial and financial centre - home to two large seaports and Pakistan's busiest international airport.

A city of relatively recent origin (it was founded in 1729), Karachi became the first capital of Pakistan after independence (1947), but was replaced by Rawalpindi in 1958. The city is home to a various ethnic communities from other parts of Asia, making for a linguistically and religiously diverse population.

Although faced with numerous challenges - such as poor infrastructure, water shortages, political and ethnic conflict, and a high crime rate (which has vastly improved in recent years) - Karachi remains a thriving metropolis, and Pakistan's economic engine.

Answer: Kinshasa

Kinshasa (formerly Léopoldville) is the capital of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Africa's second-largest country, formerly known as Belgian Congo and Zaire. With an estimated population of over 11 million, Kinshasa is not only one of Africa's three megacities, but also the world's largest French-speaking urban area. Founded by famous explorer Henry Morton Stanley in 1881, in less than a century Kinshasa expanded from a simple trading post on the south bank of the Congo River into a large, multicultural city that has attracted people from other parts of Africa. Like most urban areas in the developing world, Kinshasa is a city of sharp contrasts - home to industries, banks, commercial enterprises, and educational and cultural institutions, but also plagued by poor infrastructure, widespread poverty, and crime. Brazzaville, the capital of the Republic of the Congo (a former French colony), lies on the north bank of the Congo River.

The two countries have recently signed a deal to allow construction of a bridge that will connect Kinshasa and Brazzaville, creating a very large conurbation. Kinshasa is projected to reach the staggering figure of 83 million inhabitants by the end of the 21st century.

Answer: Abuja

Established in the 15th century by a subgroup of the Yoruba people, Lagos (named Eko by the native population) was a tributary of the Benin Empire until 1861, when it was annexed by the British. Now this megacity, built both on the mainland and on a number of islands in a lagoon separated from the Atlantic Ocean by sand spits, counts a population of over 20 million living in its metropolitan area, and - according to some estimates - has already overtaken Cairo as Africa's largest urban centre. Though stripped of its status of national and state capital, Lagos is Nigeria's economic hub, a thriving, vibrant city that generates about 10% of the country's GDP. Lagos houses one of the continent's busiest seaports, and is a major financial and cultural centre. The city's metropolitan area consists of 16 Local Government Areas, each with its own administration. Though Lagos suffers from most of the issues shared by other large urban centres in the developing world, it also attracts many people from other parts of Nigeria and the whole continent, contributing to the city's cosmopolitan atmosphere.

The three incorrect answers are all capitals of other African countries: Liberia (Monrovia), Tanzania (Dodoma), and Zambia (Lusaka).

Answer: Los Angeles

A veritable mecca for anyone involved in the entertainment industry, Los Angeles is one of those cities that fully deserve the epithet of "iconic". While the city of Los Angeles (founded in 1781) has a population of under 4 million, the Greater Los Angeles region is home to almost 19 million people, and in the US is second only to the New York metropolitan area. The region includes cities such as the major port of Long Beach, Anaheim (of Disneyland fame), and San Bernardino (home to California State University). Though Los Angeles has its issues - traffic, homelessness and crime being among the most pressing - its wonderful climate and scenery, ethnic diversity and countless attractions continue to draw people from all over the world.

None of the other three major US cities mentioned as wrong answers have attained the status of megacity, nor are they likely to do so, at least in the short term.

Answer: Portuguese

The city in question is, of course, São Paulo, the capital of the southeastern Brazilian state of the same name. It lies about 70 km (43 mi) from the Atlantic Ocean, at an altitude of 760 m (2,493 ft). Founded as a Jesuit mission in 1554, São Paulo has come very far from its humble beginnings. Though never granted the status of national capital, this vibrant, multicultural metropolis is Brazil's financial centre, and represents over 10% of the country's GDP. It is estimated that the city's enormous population (over 21 million in the Greater São Paulo area) includes natives of 200 different countries. The Italian community is the largest outside Italy, and there is a significant presence of people from Portugal, Germany, Spain and Japan. While traffic remains one of the city's main challenges, crime has dramatically decreased since the beginning of the 21st century.

Brazil is the only country in South America where Portuguese is the official language, and São Paulo - besides its other records - is also the world's largest Portuguese-speaking city.

Answer: Lima

The capital of Peru since the country's independence from Spain (1821), Lima lies on the central coast, overlooking the Pacific Ocean; its metropolitan area includes the seaport of Callao. After a violent earthquake in 1940 destroyed most of the city, Lima started growing rapidly, its population augmented by migration from other parts of the Andean region; in less than 80 years, the number of its inhabitants went from 600,000 to almost 9 million in the urban area, and over 10 million in the metro area. Lima's historic centre, one of the finest examples of colonial architecture in the Americas, was declared a UNESCO Wold Heritage site in 1988; the city is also home to the New World's oldest university, the National University of San Marcos, founded by the Spanish in 1551. Air pollution is probably Lima's biggest challenge, together with the problems stemming from high levels of economic inequality that are common to most of South America. On the other hand, Lima is one of the world's gastronomic capitals, its cuisine influenced by the city's diverse immigrant population.

As of 2019, South America counts four megacities: São Paulo, Buenos Aires, Bogotá and Lima. The capitals listed as incorrect choices are considerably smaller than these four.