THINK you know your capital cities? We’ve put together a list of the common mistakes made when it comes to geography around the world. Here’s what you need to know.
Let’s start our list at home. The capital of Australia is often mistaken for the bright lights of Sydney or the food and wine centre of Melbourne. But our capital is actually Canberra. Located halfway between Sydney and Melbourne so as not to start any accusations of favouritism, it often tops the polls for the most boring capital city in the world.
Fun fact: Ummmm
No it’s not Rio de Janeiro with the iconic towering statue of Christ, it’s actually Brasilia.
Fun fact: The city is designed in the shape of a flying bird, or aeroplane depending on how you look at it.
Turkey’s most famous city is Istanbul but it’s not the capital. Ankara, renowned for its long haired goats and cats and with a population one third the size of Istanbul is the capital of Turkey.
Fun fact: Ankara was home to the world record-breaking doner kebab, weighing in at whopping 1,198 kilograms.
Our neighbours also suffer a little bit of the Canberra complex. Auckland may be its biggest and most talked about city but it’s not the capital. The windy city of Wellington takes this title and is found at the bottom of the North Island.
Fun Fact: Wellington is the southernmost capital city in the world.
Canada is the second biggest country in the world by land mass so why doesn’t anyone ever know its capital? Toronto, nope, Montreal, keep guessing, Vancouver? The capital of Canada is Ottawa — complete with a bilingual parliament.
Fun fact: Ottawa is the seventh coldest capital in the world.
Everyone thinks that the glitzy, super luxurious city of Dubai is the capital but it’s actually Abu Dhabi.
Fun fact: The most expensive dish in the city is found at Sayad restaurant at Emirates Palace. Thirty grams of Royal Beluga Caviar here will set you back $540.
It’s a common confusion — Bucharest or Budapest? The capital of Hungary is Budapest but its often confused with the capital of Romania which is Bucharest.
Fun fact: Budapest has the world’s third largest parliamentary building.
No its not Geneva or Zurich, the capital of Switzerland is Bern, the fifth largest city in the country.
Fun fact: On arriving at Bern Airport, every international visitor is given a free Toblerone as a welcome gift.
Everyone thinks the capital is Lagos but that was the former capital. Abuja took over as capital in 1991.
Fun fact: Abuja is home to Nigeria’s first amusement park - Wonderland.
If you thought Marrakesh was the capital you’re wrong. And no it’s not Casablanca either. The capital of Morocco is Rabat.
Fun fact: Rabat was said to once be a pirate’s den.
Countries with more than one capital
South Africa divides its governmental power among three capitals. Pretoria is the administrative capital, Cape Town is the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein is the judicial capital.
Fun fact: The first human heart transplant was performed in Cape Town by Dr Christiaan Barnard.
The two capitals of American Samoa are Fagatogo which is listed in the constitution as the official seat of government and Pago Pago, the capital town.
Fun fact: Its primary export is canned tuna.
Countries that share their name with their capital city
The longest capital name
The official name of Bangkok in Thailand is 163 letters long. Yep that’s right, here it is:
Krungthepmahanakhon Amonrattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilokphop Noppharatratchathaniburirom Udomratchaniwetmahasathan Amonphimanawatansathit Sakkathattiyawitsanukamprasit.