Countries Quiz

Answer: Russia. With over 17 million km², Russia spans eleven time zones.

Answer: Turkey. Istanbul, Turkey's largest city, is itself split between the European and Asian continents by the Bosphorus.

Answer: Ethiopia. Ethiopia resisted colonization, except for an Italian occupation from 1936 to 1941.

Answer: Japan. This nickname comes from the country's own Japanese name, "Nihon," meaning "origin of the sun."

Answer: Egypt. The Suez Canal, entirely within Egypt, links these two seas and forms a major global shipping route.

Answer: Egypt. The Nile Delta, in Egypt, is one of the most fertile and densely populated agricultural regions in the world.

Answer: Madagascar. Isolated for millions of years, Madagascar is home to unique species such as lemurs.

Answer: Finland. Finland has around 188,000 lakes, earning it the nickname 'the land of a thousand lakes'.

Answer: Denmark. Greenland, the world's largest island, is an autonomous territory belonging to the Kingdom of Denmark.

Answer: Austria. Vienna, the capital of Austria, was the imperial capital of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until its dissolution in 1918.

Answer: France. Thanks to its overseas territories, France spans twelve time zones, a world record.

Answer: Eswatini. King Mswati III renamed the country "Eswatini" to mark the fiftieth anniversary of its independence.

Answer: Ecuador. Brazil, which covers almost half the continent, has ten neighbours, French Guiana included: every South American country except Chile and Ecuador, cut off from it by the Andes and Peru.

Answer: Chile. Chile, a country stretched far from north to south, includes Easter Island, famous for its moai statues, over 3,500 km from its coast.

Answer: Taiwan. At 508 m, Taipei 101 houses a 660-tonne steel ball hanging near the top that damps the shaking from typhoons and earthquakes. The island of Taiwan, 180 km off the Chinese coast, is a territory whose status is disputed with China.

Answer: Maldives. Made up of nearly 1,200 coral islands, the Maldives are directly threatened by rising seas. In 2009, the government held a cabinet meeting underwater, in diving gear, to alert the world to global warming.

Answer: Aruba. Aruba, Bonaire and Curaçao, the ‘ABC islands’, lie off Venezuela. Aruba gained autonomous country status in 1986, Curaçao only in 2010, while Bonaire is a special municipality of the Netherlands. Its divi-divi trees, bent by the trade winds, have become its emblem.

Answer: Luxembourg. Buses, trams and trains have been free for everyone since March 2020, including the many cross-border workers from France, Belgium and Germany. The world's last grand duchy, Luxembourg has three official languages: Luxembourgish, French and German.

Answer: Mauritania. Two to three kilometres long, this train links the Zouérat mines to the port of Nouadhibou; passengers sometimes ride it, sitting on the ore. Mauritania is also home to the Richat Structure, a huge rock circle nicknamed ‘the Eye of the Sahara’, visible from space.

Answer: Kuwait. The fires, which darkened the sky for months, were only put out in November 1991 by firefighters from around the world. A small, very rich country, Kuwait has the world's highest-valued currency, the Kuwaiti dinar.