Brain Zap
Back to the library

Capitals of Africa and Oceania

Capitals of Africa and Oceania: a chapter of the Capitals of the World Book, with the capitals people get wrong and the stories behind them.

10 cards · Geography

Start learning

Each Zap teaches up to 5 new cards, so you learn the deck a few at a time.

Checked by the Brain Zap team · reviewed 26 Oct 2026

Sources: List of national capitals (Wikipedia), The World Factbook (CIA)

Preview

  • Capital of Australia

    Show answer: Capital of Australia

    Canberra

    Learn more: Sydney and Melbourne both wanted the title, so a new city was built between them; parliament met there from 1927.

  • Capital of New Zealand

    Show answer: Capital of New Zealand

    Wellington

    Learn more: Auckland is far bigger, but this central city became the capital in 1865.

  • Capital of Egypt

    Show answer: Capital of Egypt

    Cairo

    Learn more: With over 20 million people in its region, it is the biggest city in the Arab world.

  • Capital of Nigeria

    Show answer: Capital of Nigeria

    Abuja

    Learn more: Lagos is far larger; the new city was built in the centre, on neutral ground between the main regions.

  • Capital of Kenya

    Show answer: Capital of Kenya

    Nairobi

    Learn more: It has a national park with lions and giraffes inside the city limits.

About this topic

Africa has more countries than any other continent, and several moved their capitals after independence, such as Nigeria from Lagos to Abuja. Down in Oceania, Australia and New Zealand both chose a capital that is not their biggest city, so Sydney and Auckland are the classic quiz traps. Many capitals were chosen as a compromise between rival cities, and some were built from nothing to give a country a fresh start.

This is a chapter of the Capitals of the World Book. Each card asks one question, with a hint before you answer and a short reason after. Once you know most of this chapter, the next one starts arriving in your Daily Zap.

All 10 cards

  1. Capital of Australia

    Canberra

    Learn more: Sydney and Melbourne both wanted the title, so a new city was built between them; parliament met there from 1927.

  2. Capital of New Zealand

    Wellington

    Learn more: Auckland is far bigger, but this central city became the capital in 1865.

  3. Capital of Egypt

    Cairo

    Learn more: With over 20 million people in its region, it is the biggest city in the Arab world.

  4. Capital of Nigeria

    Abuja

    Learn more: Lagos is far larger; the new city was built in the centre, on neutral ground between the main regions.

  5. Capital of Kenya

    Nairobi

    Learn more: It has a national park with lions and giraffes inside the city limits.

  6. South Africa's seat of government

    Pretoria

    Learn more: Cape Town hosts parliament and Bloemfontein the appeal court; Johannesburg, the biggest city, is none of them.

  7. Capital of Morocco

    Rabat

    Learn more: Casablanca and Marrakesh are better known, but the king and the government sit here.

  8. Capital of Ethiopia

    Addis Ababa

    Learn more: It hosts the African Union, so it is often called Africa's political capital.

  9. Capital of Ghana

    Accra

    Learn more: Kwame Nkrumah declared Ghana's independence there in 1957.

  10. Capital of Fiji

    Suva

    Learn more: Nadi has the international airport, but the government sits on the wetter east coast; Levuka was the first capital.

More geography decks

Each deck takes about 1 min a day.

All geography decks