The capitals of North America
Three continental giants, seven Central American countries and thirteen island states. It is the last thirteen that decide the quiz.
“North America” is taken here in the broad sense used in French-language teaching: Canada, the United States and Mexico, but also Central America and the Caribbean. That brings the total to 23 countries, against only 12 for South America.
The continental trap: the capital is never the largest city
Of the three continental states, two follow the same logic. Ottawa was chosen in 1857 by Queen Victoria precisely because it was neither Toronto nor Montreal, and because it sat on the boundary between Upper and Lower Canada, between anglophones and francophones. Washington was created from nothing on federal territory so that it would belong to no state — not New York, which was briefly the capital, and not Philadelphia.
Belize repeats the pattern in miniature: the capital is not Belize City but Belmopan, built inland after Hurricane Hattie in 1961.
The Caribbean, the zone nobody revises
Thirteen independent island states, thirteen capitals almost nobody knows: Basseterre, Roseau, Castries, Kingstown, St John's, Bridgetown. They hold a fraction of the continent's population, but in a random draw they weigh as much as the United States. Learning them in blocks — the Lesser Antilles first, where the names resemble each other — is the fastest way to close the gap.
The complete list
| Country | Capital |
|---|---|
| Antigua and Barbuda | Saint John's |
| Bahamas | Nassau |
| Barbados | Bridgetown |
| Belize | Belmopan |
| Canada | Ottawa |
| Costa Rica | San José |
| Cuba | Havana |
| Dominica | Roseau |
| United States | Washington, D.C. |
| Grenada | St. George's |
| Guatemala | Guatemala City |
| Haiti | Port-au-Prince |
| Honduras | Tegucigalpa |
| Jamaica | Kingston |
| Mexico | Mexico City |
| Nicaragua | Managua |
| Panama | Panama City |
| Dominican Republic | Santo Domingo |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | Basseterre |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | Kingstown |
| Saint Lucia | Castries |
| El Salvador | San Salvador |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Port of Spain |
Frequently asked
What is the capital of Canada?
Is Central America part of North America?
What is the capital of Belize?
Do you remember these capitals?
GeoG's Capitals mode plays continent by continent: run North America on its own, or all 195 countries of the world.
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