GitegaGitega, in the center of the country, became the political capital of Burundi on 16 January 2019. Bujumbura, 62 kilometers to the west, is the largest city and the economic capital, and it is the common wrong answer.
MoroniMoroni is the Comoros' capital and largest city, on Ngazidja, the biggest of its three main islands. The name means at the river.
DjiboutiDjibouti, often called Djibouti City, is the capital and biggest city of its namesake country, on the Gulf of Tadjoura. The French founded it in 1888.
AsmaraAsmara is Eritrea's capital and most populous city, 2,325 meters up, the second-highest capital in Africa. It became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017 for its modernist architecture.
Addis AbabaAddis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital and largest city, was founded in 1886. At 2,355 meters it is the highest capital in Africa, and the African Union has its headquarters there.
NairobiNairobi is Kenya's capital and largest city, in the south-central part of the country. It is known as the only capital in the world with a national park inside its boundaries.
AntananarivoAntananarivo is Madagascar's capital and largest city, 1,280 meters up in the center of the island. The name is often shortened to Tana.
LilongweLilongwe is Malawi's capital and largest city, in the central region, near the borders with Mozambique and Zambia. The Lilongwe River gave it its name.
Port LouisPort Louis is Mauritius' capital and most populous city, and the country's financial and political center. The port was named in honor of King Louis XV of France.
MaputoMaputo is Mozambique's capital and largest city, a port near the country's southern end. Its name was Lourenço Marques until 1976.
KigaliKigali is the capital and largest city of Rwanda, near the geographic center, in a landscape of rolling hills. It was founded in 1907 and became the capital at independence in 1962.
VictoriaVictoria is Seychelles' capital and largest city, on the northeast side of Mahé, the main island. It was named after Queen Victoria in 1841.
MogadishuMogadishu is Somalia's capital and most populous city, a port that has linked traders across the Indian Ocean for centuries. It is known locally as Xamar or Hamar.
JubaJuba is South Sudan's capital and largest city, on the White Nile. It became a national capital in 2011, when the country became independent.
DodomaDodoma is the capital of Tanzania. The move from Dar es Salaam was announced in 1974, and Dodoma became the official capital in 1996. Dar es Salaam, the largest city, is the common wrong answer.
KampalaKampala is Uganda's capital and its largest city. It was first built on seven hills and has spread well beyond them, and its lowest point is on the shore of Lake Victoria.
LusakaLusaka is Zambia's capital and largest city, in the south of the central plateau, about 1,279 meters up. In 1929 the colonial government decided to move the capital there from Livingstone.
HarareHarare is Zimbabwe's capital and largest city, on a plateau 1,483 meters up in the northeast. It was founded in 1890 and kept the name Salisbury until 18 April 1982.
Middle Africa 9
LuandaLuanda is Angola's capital and largest city, a port on the northern Atlantic coast. It was founded in January 1576 and is the most populous Portuguese-speaking capital in the world.
YaoundéYaoundé is the capital of Cameroon and its second-largest city, after the port of Douala. It lies in the Centre Region, about 750 meters above sea level.
BanguiBangui is the Central African Republic's capital and largest city. It began as a French outpost in 1889 and is named for its place on the north bank of the Ubangi River.
N'DjamenaN'Djamena is Chad's capital and its largest city. The French founded it as Fort-Lamy at the start of the 1900s, and it took its present name in 1973.
KinshasaKinshasa is the Democratic Republic of the Congo's capital and largest city, and it was named Léopoldville from 1881 to 1966. It faces Brazzaville across the Congo River.
Ciudad de la PazCiudad de la Paz, once known as Djibloho or Oyala, has been the capital of Equatorial Guinea since January 2026. It is a new city near the center of the mainland. Malabo, on the island of Bioko, was the capital before and is the common wron
LibrevilleLibreville is Gabon's capital and largest city, a port on the Gabon Estuary. The name is French for free town, and freed slaves were settled there in 1849.
BrazzavilleBrazzaville is the Republic of the Congo's capital and largest city, on the Congo River's north side. It faces Kinshasa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo's capital, across the water.
São ToméThe capital and largest city of São Tomé and Príncipe takes its name from the Portuguese for Saint Thomas. It dates from the 15th century, which puts it among Africa's oldest colonial cities.
Northern Africa 6
AlgiersAlgiers, Algeria's capital and largest city, is on the Mediterranean in the north-central part of the country. By area, Algeria is Africa's largest country.
CairoCairo is Egypt's capital and largest city, on the Nile near the start of its delta. The city was founded in 969, near the older town of Fustat.
TripoliTripoli is Libya's capital and largest city, in the northwest, on a point of rocky land that juts into the Mediterranean. The Phoenicians founded it in the 7th century BC.
RabatRabat is the capital of Morocco, on the Atlantic at the mouth of the Bou Regreg river, opposite the city of Salé. It dates from the 12th century. Casablanca, which is larger, is the common wrong answer.
KhartoumKhartoum is the capital of Sudan, at the point where the White Nile and the Blue Nile meet. Bridges link it to Khartoum North and Omdurman, and the three together form one large urban area.
TunisTunis is Tunisia's capital and largest city, behind the Lake of Tunis, on the Gulf of Tunis. Its old Medina is a World Heritage Site.
Southern Africa 5
GaboroneGaborone is Botswana's capital and its largest city. It sits in the southeast corner of the country, within 15 kilometers of the South African border.
MbabaneMbabane is the executive capital of Eswatini and its most populous city, about 1,243 meters up. Lobamba, the royal and legislative capital, is accepted as well.
MaseruMaseru is Lesotho's capital and largest city, on the Caledon River, directly on the border with South Africa. Its name means red sandstones in Sesotho.
WindhoekWindhoek is Namibia's capital and largest city, on the Khomas Highland, about 1,700 meters up, in the geographic center of the country. The city grew up where a hot spring rises.
PretoriaPretoria is South Africa's executive capital and hosts all foreign embassies. Cape Town is the legislative capital and Bloemfontein the judicial capital, and both are accepted as well.
Western Africa 16
Porto-NovoPorto-Novo is the official capital of Benin and its second-largest city, beside a Gulf of Guinea inlet. Cotonou, the economic and administrative hub, is the common wrong answer.
OuagadougouOuagadougou is Burkina Faso's capital and its largest city. The name is often shortened to Ouaga, and a railway links the city to Abidjan in Ivory Coast.
PraiaPraia is Cape Verde's capital and largest city, on the south coast of Santiago, one of the Sotavento Islands.
AccraAccra is Ghana's capital and largest city, on the country's south coast, on the Gulf of Guinea.
ConakryConakry is Guinea's capital and its largest city. The port city began on small Tombo Island and later spread along the neighboring Kaloum Peninsula.
BissauBissau is Guinea-Bissau's capital and largest city, and its main port, on the estuary of the Geba River.
YamoussoukroSince 1983 Yamoussoukro has been Ivory Coast's capital in law. It is 240 kilometers northwest of Abidjan, the largest city and the economic capital, which is the common wrong answer.
MonroviaMonrovia is Liberia's capital and largest city, on the Atlantic coast at Cape Mesurado. It was founded in 1822 and named after James Monroe, the fifth president of the United States.
BamakoBamako is Mali's capital and largest city, on the Niger River in the southwestern part of the country.
NouakchottNouakchott is Mauritania's capital and largest city, in the southwest, and one of the Sahara's largest cities. It was a coastal village until it was chosen as the capital, and building began in 1958.
NiameyNiamey is Niger's capital and largest city, in the western part of the country, on the Niger River.
AbujaAbuja is the capital of Nigeria, at the country's geographic midpoint. It replaced Lagos as the capital on 12 December 1991, and Lagos is still the common wrong answer. Aso Rock, a 400-meter monolith, stands over the city.
DakarSenegal's capital and largest city, Dakar stands on the Cap-Vert peninsula, which is the westernmost point of the African mainland.
FreetownFreetown is Sierra Leone's capital and largest city, a port on one of the largest natural deep-water harbors in the world. It was founded by 1,196 African Americans on March 11, 1792, and became a home for free and freed people.
BanjulBanjul is the capital of The Gambia, on St Mary's Island, where the Gambia River enters the Atlantic. It was called Bathurst until 24 April 1973.
LoméLomé is Togo's capital and largest city and its chief port, on the Gulf of Guinea. It sits at the southwest corner of the country, and the city limits reach the border with Ghana.
How this list was compiled: Capitals, and the notes on countries with more than one capital (Benin, Burundi, Eswatini, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Tanzania) and on Equatorial Guinea's move to Ciudad de la Paz: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_national_capitals, checked 2026-09-19. Which states are members of the United Nations: https://www.un.org/en/about-us/member-states, checked 2026-09-19. The five regions are those of the United Nations Statistics Division, Standard country or area codes for statistical use (M49), https://unstats.un.org/unsd/methodology/m49/overview/, checked 2026-09-19. The detail line of each capital comes from the city's own Wikipedia article, all checked 2026-09-19: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algiers, /Luanda, /Porto-Novo, /Gaborone, /Ouagadougou, /Gitega, /Yaound%C3%A9, /Praia, /Bangui, /N%27Djamena, /Moroni,_Comoros, /Kinshasa, /Djibouti_City, /Cairo, /Ciudad_de_la_Paz, /Malabo, /Asmara, /Mbabane, /Lobamba, /Addis_Ababa, /Libreville, /Accra, /Conakry, /Bissau, /Yamoussoukro, /Nairobi, /Maseru, /Monrovia, /Tripoli,_Libya, /Antananarivo, /Lilongwe, /Bamako, /Nouakchott, /Port_Louis, /Rabat, /Maputo, /Windhoek, /Niamey, /Abuja, /Brazzaville, /Kigali, /S%C3%A3o_Tom%C3%A9, /Dakar, /Victoria,_Seychelles, /Freetown, /Mogadishu, /Pretoria, /Juba, /Khartoum, /Dodoma, /Banjul, /Lom%C3%A9, /Tunis, /Kampala, /Lusaka and /Harare. N'Djamena: the lead of the English article gives 1910 and 1975, but its own History and Etymology sections give 18 May 1901 and 1973, and https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%27Djam%C3%A9na gives 29 May 1900 and 1973 (both checked 2026-09-19), so the detail line says the start of the 1900s and 1973. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site from Natural Earth 5.1.2, ne_50m_admin_0_countries_lakes (scale 1:50,000,000), https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvkelso/natural-earth-vector/v5.1.2/geojson/ne_50m_admin_0_countries_lakes.geojson, downloaded 2026-09-19. Lambert azimuthal equal-area projection centred on 1°N 17°E. Outlines simplified; small islands are left out. One place is too small to draw at this scale and shown as a dot. Licence: public domain (Natural Earth terms of use: https://www.naturalearthdata.com/about/terms-of-use/)
How it works
This Africa capitals quiz names one country at a time, lights it on the map and asks for its capital, such as Windhoek or Kigali. It asks all 54 African member states of the United Nations, one region at a time.
Read the full guide
Countries with more than one capital
Where a country has more than one capital, the quiz asks one and accepts the rest. South Africa is Pretoria, and a typed Cape Town or Bloemfontein counts. Eswatini is Mbabane, and Lobamba counts. Benin, Burundi, Ivory Coast and Tanzania take the official capital: Porto-Novo, Gitega, Yamoussoukro and Dodoma.
Five regions, North Africa among them
The sets under Start from are the United Nations regions: Eastern Africa 18, Western 16, Middle 9, Northern 6 and Southern 5. Pick Northern Africa under Start from for a North Africa capitals quiz of six: Rabat, Algiers, Tunis, Tripoli, Cairo and Khartoum. Thirteen small countries, Rwanda and Lesotho among them, carry a numbered ring.
Seven capitals sit behind a better-known city: Abuja (Lagos), Dodoma (Dar es Salaam), Yamoussoukro (Abidjan), Porto-Novo (Cotonou), Gitega (Bujumbura), Rabat (Casablanca), Yaoundé (Douala).
Read the north coast west to east: Rabat on the Atlantic, then Algiers, Tunis and Tripoli on the Mediterranean, then Cairo on the Nile.
Three countries have Guinea in the name: Conakry is Guinea, Bissau is Guinea-Bissau, and Ciudad de la Paz is Equatorial Guinea.
Questions and answers
Why is Malabo marked wrong for Equatorial Guinea?
The country moved its capital in January 2026 to Ciudad de la Paz, a new city on the mainland once known as Djibloho or Oyala. All three names count. Malabo, on the island of Bioko, held the title until then.
Why is Sudan in Northern Africa and South Sudan not?
The sets follow the United Nations statistical regions, which file Sudan under Northern Africa. South Sudan, a separate country since 2011, is filed under Eastern Africa, so Juba is asked there.
Why does the drawing have more shapes than the quiz has questions?
Somaliland and Western Sahara are drawn as shapes of their own. Neither is a member state of the United Nations, the rule for this page's list, so neither is ever an answer or part of the 54. A tap on one costs nothing.
Do typed answers need accents and apostrophes?
No. Typing forgives accents, apostrophes, hyphens and one slip in a longer word, so Yaounde, Lome and Porto Novo all count. Tana counts for Antananarivo and Xamar for Mogadishu.