Capitals of North and Central America quiz

The 23 capitals in the quiz

They’re the capitals of the 23 countries of North & Central America. Tapping the capital’s dot or anywhere in its country both count.

How to play

In Point mode we name a capital and you tap it on the map; in Type mode one lights up and you type its name (accents don’t matter); and in Time trial you get 6 seconds per question. If you miss, we show you where it was, which way it lies and a hint drawn from the data: which country it belongs to and its neighbors.

Each game has 10, 20 or all the questions, and at the end you can practice just the ones you missed. Your best score for each mode is saved in this browser only: neither we nor anyone else can see it, and there’s no sign-up.

The hardest ones

19 of the 23 don’t share the name of their country, and that’s where it gets tricky: Basseterre (Saint Kitts and Nevis), Belmopan (Belize), Bridgetown (Barbados), Castries (Saint Lucia), Havana (Cuba), Kingston (Jamaica), Kingstown (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Managua (Nicaragua), Nassau (Bahamas), and Ottawa (Canada)….

And watch out for look-alike names: Kingston and Kingstown.

Tips to learn them

• Some Caribbean capitals have look-alike names: Kingston (Jamaica) and Kingstown (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), or Port of Spain (Trinidad and Tobago) and Port-au-Prince (Haiti). Learn them in pairs.
• 4 of the 23 share (or nearly share) their country’s name: those come for free.

Playing in class

Play the countries first and their capitals afterward: that way each capital sticks to its place on the map.

With the Challenge your class link, everyone gets the same questions in the same order, with no accounts or passwords, and each student sees their own score, time and streak. To practice on paper, there’s a printable worksheet of the same map with an answer key.

List of all 23 capitals

1. Basseterre Saint Kitts and Nevis
2. Belmopan Belize
3. Bridgetown Barbados
4. Castries Saint Lucia
5. Guatemala City Guatemala
6. Havana Cuba
7. Kingston Jamaica
8. Kingstown Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
9. Managua Nicaragua
10. Mexico City Mexico
11. Nassau Bahamas
12. Ottawa Canada
13. Panama City Panama
14. Port of Spain Trinidad and Tobago
15. Port-au-Prince Haiti
16. Roseau Dominica
17. Saint John's Antigua and Barbuda
18. San José Costa Rica
19. San Salvador El Salvador
20. Santo Domingo Dominican Republic
21. St. George's Grenada
22. Tegucigalpa Honduras
23. Washington United States