50 Hardest Geography Quiz Questions (With Answers)

These are the questions that separate people who know geography from people who know the famous bits of geography. Answers follow each question immediately — no scrolling to a key.

Capitals

1. Capital of Myanmar? Naypyidaw.
2. Capital of Kazakhstan? Astana.
3. Capital of Côte d'Ivoire? Yamoussoukro (Abidjan is the largest city).
4. Capital of Palau? Ngerulmud — the least populated national capital on earth.
5. Capital of Sri Lanka? Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (Colombo is commercial capital).
6. Capital of Bolivia? Sucre constitutionally; La Paz is the seat of government.
7. Capital of Benin? Porto-Novo (Cotonou is the seat of government).
8. Capital of Tanzania? Dodoma.
9. Capital of Nauru? No official capital — Yaren is the de facto district.
10. Capital of Kiribati? South Tarawa.

Borders and shapes

1. Which country borders the most others? China and Russia, 14 each.
2. Which two countries are entirely surrounded by one other country? Lesotho (South Africa) and San Marino and Vatican City (both Italy).
3. Which country is landlocked by two landlocked countries? Liechtenstein and Uzbekistan — the only doubly landlocked states.
4. Which country spans the most time zones? France, via overseas territories — 12.
5. Which African country was never colonised? Ethiopia.
6. Longest land border in the world? Canada–United States.
7. What separates Spain from Morocco? The Strait of Gibraltar.
8. Which country has the longest coastline? Canada.
9. Which country is both in Europe and Asia and has its largest city split by a strait? Turkey (Istanbul, across the Bosphorus).
10. Which country's territory includes an exclave surrounded by Lithuania and Poland? Russia (Kaliningrad).

Physical geography

1. Longest river? The Nile, by most measures; the Amazon carries far more water.
2. Deepest ocean point? Challenger Deep, Mariana Trench.
3. Largest desert? Antarctica — a desert is defined by precipitation, not heat.
4. Largest lake by area? The Caspian Sea.
5. Highest waterfall? Angel Falls, Venezuela.
6. Driest place on Earth? The Atacama Desert, Chile.
7. Largest island? Greenland.
8. Lowest point on land? The Dead Sea shore.
9. Which mountain is furthest from Earth's centre? Chimborazo, Ecuador — not Everest.
10. Largest rainforest after the Amazon? The Congo Basin.

Countries and names

1. Which country changed its English name to Türkiye? Turkey.
2. Which country changed from Swaziland? Eswatini.
3. Which country changed from Macedonia? North Macedonia.
4. Newest UN member state? South Sudan, 2011.
5. Smallest country by area? Vatican City.
6. Smallest country by population? Vatican City, again.
7. Most populous country without a coastline? Ethiopia.
8. Which country has no rivers? Saudi Arabia (among others).
9. Which country uses the euro but is not in the EU? Montenegro and Kosovo, unilaterally.
10. Which two countries share the island of Hispaniola? Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

The really nasty ten

1. Which sea has no coastline? The Sargasso Sea.
2. Which country's flag is not rectangular? Nepal.
3. What is the only US state capital with no McDonald's? Montpelier, Vermont.
4. Which country lies in all four hemispheres? Kiribati.
5. Which country's capital is the highest by elevation? Bolivia (La Paz) among administrative capitals; Ecuador (Quito) is second.
6. Which strait separates Asia from North America? The Bering Strait.
7. Which country contains the geographic centre of Europe (by one common calculation)? Lithuania.
8. Which two landlocked countries have the largest populations? Ethiopia and Uganda.
9. Which country has the most islands? Sweden, by count of named islands.
10. Which country's name means "Land of the Silver River"? Argentina.

Try the playable versions: Geography Trivia Questions, Borders Quiz, Landlocked Countries, Smallest Countries.