Capitals of Central and East Africa
Every capital of Central and East Africa beyond the essentials: a chapter of the Capitals of the World Book, with the traps and the stories behind them.
15 cards · Geography
Each Zap teaches up to 5 new cards, so you learn the chapter a few at a time.
Checked by the Brain Zap team · reviewed 27 Oct 2026
Sources: List of national capitals (Wikipedia), The World Factbook (CIA)
Preview
Capital of Cameroon
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Yaoundé
Learn more: Built on hills inland; Douala, the port, is bigger and the business capital.
Capital of the Central African Republic
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Bangui
Learn more: It sits on the Ubangi River, which forms the border with DR Congo.
Capital of Chad
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N'Djamena
Learn more: The French named it Fort-Lamy; in 1973 it took the name of a nearby village. It faces Cameroon across a river.
Capital of the Republic of the Congo
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Brazzaville
Learn more: Named after Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, who founded it in 1880. Kinshasa faces it across the Congo River.
Capital of DR Congo
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Kinshasa
Learn more: One of Africa's biggest cities, and the largest French-speaking city in the world.
About this topic
This chapter covers the capitals of Central and East Africa that the essentials chapter left out, from Kinshasa and Brazzaville, which face each other across the Congo River, to Mogadishu on the Indian Ocean. Several countries moved their capitals inland in recent decades: Tanzania to Dodoma and Burundi to Gitega, while their old capitals on the coast or lake stayed bigger. Gabon's Libreville and Juba, capital of the world's newest country, have stories of freedom of their own.
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 15 cards
Capital of Cameroon
Yaoundé
Learn more: Built on hills inland; Douala, the port, is bigger and the business capital.
Capital of the Central African Republic
Bangui
Learn more: It sits on the Ubangi River, which forms the border with DR Congo.
Capital of Chad
N'Djamena
Learn more: The French named it Fort-Lamy; in 1973 it took the name of a nearby village. It faces Cameroon across a river.
Capital of the Republic of the Congo
Brazzaville
Learn more: Named after Pierre Savorgnan de Brazza, who founded it in 1880. Kinshasa faces it across the Congo River.
Capital of DR Congo
Kinshasa
Learn more: One of Africa's biggest cities, and the largest French-speaking city in the world.
Capital of Gabon
Libreville
Learn more: Its name means "free town" in French: it was founded for slaves freed from a captured ship.
Capital of São Tomé and Príncipe
São Tomé
Learn more: Founded by the Portuguese in 1485, it grew rich on sugar and later on cocoa.
Capital of Burundi
Gitega
Learn more: It replaced Bujumbura, on Lake Tanganyika, as the political capital in 2019.
Capital of Djibouti
Djibouti
Learn more: Country and capital share a name; its port handles most of Ethiopia's trade.
Capital of Eritrea
Asmara
Learn more: Built up by Italy in the 1930s, its modernist buildings made it a UNESCO site in 2017.
Capital of Rwanda
Kigali
Learn more: Known for its clean streets: plastic bags have been banned in Rwanda since 2008.
Capital of Somalia
Mogadishu
Learn more: Arab and Persian traders made it a rich port over 1,000 years ago.
Capital of South Sudan
Juba
Learn more: Capital of the world's newest country since its independence in 2011.
Capital of Tanzania
Dodoma
Learn more: Chosen in 1973 for its central location; the government moved slowly, and Dar es Salaam is still far bigger.
Capital of Uganda
Kampala
Learn more: Its name comes from a hill once home to impala antelopes. Lake Victoria is just to its south.
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