World Capitals Quiz
Some capitals were drawn on paper before a single street existed.
A world capitals quiz with answers that never asks 'what is the capital of…'. Instead it explores how capital cities were planned, named and built, from South America to Central Asia.
Did you know?
- Washington, D.C. was also planned before it was built, with a street plan drawn in 1791 by the French-born engineer Pierre Charles L'Enfant. Wide diagonal avenues cross a grid, creating open circles and squares at the points where they meet.
- Canberra's name is usually linked to a local Aboriginal word often translated as 'meeting place'. The city's central lake, Lake Burley Griffin, is artificial and was created in 1963 by damming the Molonglo River, following the original plan.
- Many capitals have moved over time. Japan's government seat moved from Kyoto to Tokyo in 1868, Brazil's from Rio de Janeiro to Brasília in 1960, and Nigeria's from Lagos to Abuja in 1991. Such moves can take decades, as ministries and embassies relocate gradually.
How capital cities are chosen
A capital is usually the city where a country's government sits, but how cities earn that role varies greatly. Some capitals grew for centuries as trading or royal centres, so the government simply stayed where power already was. Others were chosen deliberately to unite a country, to move government away from a crowded coast or to encourage development inland. A few countries divide capital functions between several cities, which makes the idea of a single capital less simple than it looks.
Planned capitals
In the 20th century, several countries built capitals from scratch. Brasília was placed in the interior to draw people away from the coast, while Canberra was designed after an international competition won by the American architects Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin. Chandigarh in India, planned by Le Corbusier, became a capital of two states. Planned capitals often have wide avenues, large green spaces and separate districts for government, housing and business.
Capitals on water
Water has shaped many capitals. Stockholm spreads across islands, Amsterdam grew along rings of canals, and Bangkok was once crossed by so many canals that visitors called it the Venice of the East. Access to rivers and harbours made trade easier, but it also brought floods, so these cities developed dikes, locks and pumping systems. Several low-lying capitals are now investing heavily to cope with rising seas.
Extremes of climate and height
Capital cities are found in almost every climate. Several Andean capitals lie above 2,500 m, where visitors can feel short of breath on their first day. At the other end of the scale, some capitals near the Arctic have only a few hours of daylight in December. Ulaanbaatar's long winters and Reykjavík's geothermal heating show how people adapt, from insulated housing to district heating networks that warm entire neighbourhoods.