Skip to main content
Old Bosphorus map with Turkish flag, brass compass, magnifying glass and golden lantern
Photo: QuizFury
GeographyHard

Expert Geography: World Tour

Which country has the lowest population density in the world? Which strait separates Europe from Asia in Turkey? Which capital was born from the merger of Buda and Pest in 1873? Which river flows through the most countries? 20 geography questions for those who think they know it all, from the deepest lake to the largest island.

20

Questions

4

Minutes

Tip: Use keys 1-4 to answer quickly

The 20 quiz questions

Question 1 : What is the capital of Kazakhstan?

Possible answers:

  • Tashkent
  • Almaty
  • Bishkek
  • Astana

Explanation: Astana has been the capital of Kazakhstan since 1997, replacing Almaty. The city was renamed Nur-Sultan from 2019 to 2022, before reverting to Astana.

Question 2 : What is the capital of Bhutan?

Possible answers:

  • Kathmandu
  • Colombo
  • Dhaka
  • Thimphu

Explanation: Thimphu is the capital of Bhutan, a small Himalayan kingdom located between India and China.

Question 3 : What is the largest island in the world?

Possible answers:

  • Greenland
  • Madagascar
  • Borneo
  • New Guinea

Explanation: Greenland, an autonomous territory of Denmark, is the largest island in the world at 2.166 million km². Australia is considered a continent, not an island.

Question 4 : Which strait separates Europe from Asia in Turkey?

Possible answers:

  • Hormuz
  • Bosphorus
  • Gibraltar
  • Dardanelles

Explanation: The Bosphorus connects the Black Sea to the Sea of Marmara and separates the European and Asian parts of Istanbul.

Question 5 : Which is the smallest country in mainland Africa?

Possible answers:

  • Gambia
  • Burundi
  • Eswatini
  • Djibouti

Explanation: The Gambia, landlocked within Senegal, is the smallest country in mainland Africa with 11,295 km².

Question 6 : Which river flows through the most countries?

Possible answers:

  • Mekong
  • Amazon
  • Danube
  • Nile

Explanation: The Danube flows through 10 European countries: Germany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Ukraine.

Question 7 : Which lake is the deepest in the world?

Possible answers:

  • Lake Tanganyika
  • Lake Baikal
  • Lake Superior
  • Lake Victoria

Explanation: Lake Baikal in Siberia reaches 1,642 meters deep and contains 20% of the world's surface fresh water.

Question 8 : Which European capital, formed by the merger of two cities (Buda and Pest) in 1873, is today crossed by a major river?

Possible answers:

  • Belgrade
  • Vienna
  • Bratislava
  • Budapest

Explanation: Budapest, capital of Hungary, was created by the 1873 merger of Buda (hills to the west) and Pest (plain to the east). The Danube flows through the city, offering a stunning panorama from the Chain Bridge.

Question 9 : Which African country was formerly called Abyssinia?

Possible answers:

  • Somalia
  • Eritrea
  • Ethiopia
  • Sudan

Explanation: Ethiopia, formerly Abyssinia, is one of the oldest countries in the world and was never colonized.

Question 10 : Which landlocked country is located between France and Spain?

Possible answers:

  • Liechtenstein
  • Andorra
  • San Marino
  • Monaco

Explanation: Andorra is a principality landlocked in the Pyrenees, with only 468 km² of area.

Question 11 : Which mountain range separates Europe from Asia?

Possible answers:

  • Carpathians
  • Altai
  • Urals
  • Caucasus

Explanation: The Urals, a Russian mountain range 2,500 km long, is the conventional boundary between Europe and Asia.

Question 12 : Which country has the most time zones?

Possible answers:

  • France
  • Russia
  • United States
  • United Kingdom

Explanation: France has 12 time zones thanks to its overseas territories, ahead of Russia (11).

Question 13 : Which country has the longest coastline in the world?

Possible answers:

  • Australia
  • Canada
  • Indonesia
  • Russia

Explanation: Canada has 202,080 km of coastline, thanks to its many Arctic islands and three bordering oceans.

Question 14 : What is the capital of Mongolia?

Possible answers:

  • Ulaanbaatar
  • Irkutsk
  • Beijing
  • Harbin

Explanation: Ulaanbaatar is the capital of Mongolia and is home to nearly half of its population.

Question 15 : Which is the largest desert in the world (including cold deserts)?

Possible answers:

  • Gobi
  • Sahara
  • Arctic Ocean
  • Antarctica

Explanation: Antarctica is technically the largest desert in the world with 14 million km², ahead of the Sahara.

Question 16 : Which country has the lowest population density in the world?

Possible answers:

  • Namibia
  • Australia
  • Mongolia
  • Canada

Explanation: Mongolia has about 2 inhabitants per km², the lowest population density for a sovereign country.

Question 17 : Which is the only country crossed by both the equator and a tropic?

Possible answers:

  • Indonesia
  • Kenya
  • Colombia
  • Brazil

Explanation: Brazil is crossed by the equator in the north and the Tropic of Capricorn in the south.

Question 18 : Which inland sea is the largest in the world?

Possible answers:

  • Caspian Sea
  • Dead Sea
  • Black Sea
  • Aral Sea

Explanation: The Caspian Sea, technically a salt lake, is the largest inland body of water with 371,000 km².

Question 19 : Which volcanic archipelago is located on three tectonic plates?

Possible answers:

  • Hawaii
  • The Philippines
  • Japan
  • Iceland

Explanation: Iceland is located at the junction of the Eurasian, North American plates and on a hotspot.

Question 20 : Which South American country is landlocked?

Possible answers:

  • Uruguay
  • Bolivia
  • Ecuador
  • Paraguay

Explanation: Bolivia lost its access to the sea after the War of the Pacific against Chile (1879-1884).

This quiz has been played 0 times

Similar quizzes

The Least Known Flags
Play
Geography
HardFlags of the World

The Least Known Flags

A Pacific country with a Y-shaped boar's tusk, Asia's youngest country that became independent in 2002, the smallest island state in the world, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, a sultanate in Southeast Asia, a Caribbean state with an endemic parrot, a flag with 9 stars for 9 islands: 15 flags that nobody can identify.

3 min
Flags of Europe - Expert
Play
Geography
HardFlags of the World

Flags of Europe - Expert

A micro-state that added a crown to set itself apart from a neighbor, a blue Scandinavian cross edged in white on a red background, a flag adopted in 1995 with an 8-rayed sun after a dispute with Greece, and an emblem so close to Indonesia's: 15 flags of Europe for true vexillology experts.

3 min
European Capitals - Hard
Play
Geography
HardWorld Capitals

European Capitals - Hard

One capital with its 5,700 inhabitants, another perched at 1,023 metres, and San Marino, a republic founded in 301. 20 capitals of micro-states and tricky Balkan countries (Tallinn, Ljubljana, Podgorica, Skopje, Sarajevo, Riga) for experts, plus Kosovo, independent since 2008.

4 min
African Capitals - Hard
Play
Geography
HardWorld Capitals

African Capitals - Hard

20 tricky African capitals: recent transfers and dual capitals. Which city hosts the South African government? What has been Burundi's capital since 2019? And the official one of Benin (while the government sits elsewhere)? Also featured: Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Chad, Central African Republic, São Tomé and Príncipe, Eswatini, Botswana, Guinea-Bissau, Republic of the Congo, Mauritius, Seychelles, and several decoy cities that are NOT capitals.

4 min