Name All 54 African Capitals

This challenge holds all 54 capital cities in Africa, and you have to type every one of them from memory, with no clues and nothing to pick from.

What is in this challenge

Every African state, from Algeria to Zimbabwe, including the island nations off both coasts. One capital per country, so the challenge is complete at 54 out of 54.

How the list of countries is decided

GeoMemory counts 196 countries: the 193 UN member states plus Vatican City, Palestine and Taiwan. Dependencies and overseas territories are excluded, so Greenland, Puerto Rico, Hong Kong and New Caledonia are never answers. Microstates are included in full, which means San Marino, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Andorra, Nauru, Tuvalu and Palau each count for one. Every country sits in exactly one continent, and that is what gives the totals of 54 for Africa, 48 for Asia, 45 for Europe, 23 for North America, 12 for South America and 14 for Oceania. The capitals challenges run on the same list, one capital per country. Egypt is counted as African, and Western Sahara is not a separate answer.

Why this one is hard

Africa is the largest single continent set in GeoMemory, and recall usually thins out across the western and central belt. Capitals are harder than countries here, because you first have to remember the country and then remember its capital.

The answers people get wrong

How this differs from a multiple choice quiz

GeoMemory is free recall, not recognition. There is no list of options, no map to click and no first letter given away: you type a name and it either belongs to the set or it does not. Spelling is forgiving (one wrong character is accepted, accents and punctuation are ignored), a timer runs while you play, and the run ends with a completion percentage you can share. A multiple choice quiz asks whether you recognise the right answer among four. A map click quiz asks whether you can point at it. This one asks whether you can produce it.

Frequently asked questions

  • How many capitals are in this challenge?

    54. You need all 54 for a complete run, and your percentage is counted against that number.

  • Are spelling mistakes accepted?

    Yes, up to a point. One missing, extra, swapped or transposed character is accepted, and accents, punctuation, capitals and spaces are ignored. Two mistakes in the same word are not accepted.

  • Is it free, and do I need an account?

    It is free and there is no account, no sign up and no install. Your best time for each challenge is kept in your own browser.

  • Which capitals in Africa are missed most often?

    These are the answers that decide a run. Nigeria answers Abuja, not Lagos, and South Africa answers Pretoria, not Johannesburg. Tanzania answers Dodoma, not Dar es Salaam, and Benin answers Porto-Novo, not Cotonou. Morocco is Rabat, not Casablanca, and Cameroon is Yaounde, not Douala.