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About This Quiz
Calling all world travelers: You might be flying over Africa for a safari or backpacking through Europe, and you suddenly realize that borders seem rather arbitrary. Yet, these jagged, curving, uneven invisible lines mean more than most things!
Many people might wonder how a country gets its shape. The most common answer would be through ambition, war and time! While plate tectonics slowly change the shape of the world, countries have changed shape multiple times over the course of history. The map is still changing!
Although it's easy to establish boundaries within your country, it's harder to establish countries within your continent.ÂÂ
Can you recognize the 'boot-like' shape of this European country? Can you identify the outline of the smallest state in the world, Vatican City? Can you pick out the largest country in the world that spans two continents?
After all those lessons in geography, this is what you were waiting for! Take this globe for a spin, and find out if you're a geography genius!
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What is the fifth most-visited country in the world?
Israel
France
Spain
Italy
Italy is known for its "boot like" shape. It is the fifth most visited country in the world, welcoming more than 58 million visitors every year. Also, the Vatican City in Rome is the smallest country in the world and is led by the Pope himself.
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Which country's capital is Athens?
Greece
The official name of Greece is "Hellenic Republic" and is located in Southeast Europe, close to both Africa and Asia, which is why it was such an incredibly busy trading center, historically. There are dozens of ancient ruins in Greece that you can still visit.
Italy
Egypt
Jordan
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Where can you find Burgundy and Champagne?
Germany
France
France is the world's most popular tourist destination, with about 83.7 million visitors arriving in France according to the World Tourism Organization report published in 2014, France is the world's most visited country. France is also the largest country in the EU. It's area makes up about 1/5th of the EU's total area.
Poland
Bulgaria
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What country has nearly 500 miles of surf-able coastline?
Poland
Tunisia
Portugal
Portugal is the oldest country in Europe, and has had the same defined borders since 1139, making it the oldest nation-state in Europe. It has the oldest bookstore in the world is in Portugal's capital. Portugal is also the largest cork producer in the world. Surprisingly, Portugal has on of the world's top surf spots, with a coastline that spans 497 miles.
Andorra
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Which country is known for its artificial islands?
United Arab Emirates
The world's longest automated metro system is in Dubai (which is located in the United Arab Emirates.) It has 87 trains operating its 75-km-long network which have no drivers at all. The trains are carbon neutral, and the temperature is maintained at a standard 20 degrees Celsius with no variation whatsoever.
Dubai
Abu Dhabi
Iraq
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Which country is the largest island in the Caribbean?
Cuba
Cuba is the largest of all the islands in the Caribbean. From the air, the island of Cuba resembles a crocodile or alligator so Cuba is often referred to in Spanish as "el cocodrilo" or "el caima."
Haiti
Ecuador
Guyana
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Which country is one of only three city-states in the world?
Malaysia
Singapore
Singapore is one of the strictest countries in the world, especially when it comes to cleanliness. Toilet cleanliness is serious business. In fact, you can be fined around $150 for not flushing after you use the toilet. It is also illegal to sell chewing gum in Singapore.
Vietnam
Africa
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What country is famous for it's "Jamon Iberico?"
Portugal
Spain
In Spain, the Puerta del Sol (Gate of the Sun) plaza in Madrid is the physical center of the country. There is no tooth fairy in Spain, instead, they have a legend called 'Ratoncito Perez' who exchanges children's teeth with gifts. Spain produces about 45% of all the olive oil in the world.
Norway
France
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Which country is bordered by seven other countries?
Germany
Sweden
Austria
Poland
Poland's official name is actually the 'Republic of Poland.' Poland is also the ninth largest country in Europe by land area. It shares a border with seven countries: Russia, Lithuania, Belarus, Slovakia, Ukraine, the Czech Republic and Germany.
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Which country was the first in its area to establish a constitution?
Libya
Kuwait
The oil reserves found in Kuwait were discovered in 1934, and they are the sixth largest oil reserves in the world. Kuwait is also the first Gulf country to have established a constitution and parliament.
Iran
Armenia
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Which country is made up of more than 17,000 islands?
Taiwan
Phillippines
Indonesia
Indonesia is made up of over 17,500 islands, 6,000 of which are inhabited. The largest of these islands are Sumatra, Java, Kalimantan, Sulawesi and the Indonesian part of New Guinea, called Papua (which is separate from 'Papua New Guinea.') Indonesia is part of the Pacific Rim "Ring of Fire."
Sumatra
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Which country's capital was originally named after Lord Salisbury?
Taiwan
North Korea
Tajikistan
Zimbabwe
The first people of Zimbabwe were the Bantu-speaking Iron Age farmers that settled in the region around AD 300. The capital, Harare, was originally called 'Salisbury' in 1890 in honor of the British Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury. Zimbabwe is a landlocked plateau country.
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Which country is also known as Holland?
Norway
Netherlands
The Netherlands is also known as Holland. Its capital (and largest city) is Amsterdam, which is known for its Van Gogh museum, among other things. Around 20% of the Netherlands is located below sea level. The Netherlands has borders with Belgium and Germany.
Ireland
New Zealand
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Which country suffered a genocide in 1994?
Zambia
Tanzania
Rwanda
"Hotel Rwanda" is a well-known film about the 1994 Rwandan genocide. It is a small, mountainous, landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Nigeria
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What country's capital is Tehran?
Iraq
Afghanistan
Morocco
Iran
In Persian, the word "Iran" means "land of the Aryans." Iran's capital and largest city, Tehran, has some of the worst air pollution issues in the world. An estimated 27 people die each day from air pollution-related diseases. Iran is mostly a desert and receives less than four inches of precipitation each year.
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Which country has an ancient lake?
Ireland
Kenya
Venezuela
Lake Maracaibo, which is connected to the Gulf of Venezuela at the northern end, is the largest lake in South America and one of the oldest on Earth, an estimated 20-40 million years old. In Venezuela, the country only has two seasons as far as temperature goes: the hot and dry season and the hot and wet season.
France
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Which country is home to the city formerly known as Saigon?
India
Vietnam
The culture in Vietnam is a complex adaptation of Chinese, Japanese, French and American colonial influences. The body of Ho Chi Minh, who led the North Vietnamese in a war against the South Vietnamese, was embalmed and is on display in a mausoleum.
Malaysia
Laos
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Which country was home to Vlad the Impaler?
Ukraine
Romania
Romania was a source of inspiration for two famous novels: "The Castle in the Carpathians" by Jules Verne and "Dracula" by Bram Stoker. The mass transit network in Bucharest, the capital of Romania, is the fourth largest in Europe.
Monaco
Belarus
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Mecca is located in which country?
Bahrain
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is the birthplace of Islam and has the two most holy locations for the religion within its borders. The Arabian Peninsula that it sits on is the world's largest peninsula. Riyadh's camel market is one of the largest in the world and sells about 100 camels per day.
Qatar
Latvia
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Which country landlocked in South America?
Bolivia
Bolivia is one of the two only landlocked South American countries. The other is Paraguay. El Penal de San Pedro (Saint Peter's Prison) in La Paz is famous for its walled society. Bolivia has over 30 official languages and 36 native cultures. The main languages spoken are Spanish, Quechua and Aymara.
Brazil
Cuba
Nicaragua
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Which country is exceptionally mountainous?
Monaco
Portugal
Tunisia
Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
An interesting feature about Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia is that it has more mountains and mountain peaks than any other country in the world. Mount Golem Korab is the highest at 2,753 meters above sea-level. There are also more than 50 lakes in the country.
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Which country has some of the most important Mayan ruins in the world?
Jamaica
Honduras
Christopher Columbus was the first European to discover Honduras. Honduras' literal meaning is "Great Depths." The Copan Mayan Ruins are considered some of the most important ruins of the Mayan empire because of the fully intact hieroglyphs found there.
Peru
Nairobi
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Which nation is on the island of Borneo?
Brunei
There are about 35 species of plants that come only from Brunei. Some of these are types of orchid, palms and bamboo. The Belalong tree frog can only be found in Brunei. When Brunei first participated in the 1988 Olympic Games, its team was composed of a single official and no athletes.
Ukraine
Bulgaria
Turkey
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Which country is made up of four island states?
Ethiopia
Sri Lanka
Kuwait
Federated States of Micronesia
The majority of the islands that form Micronesia are either volcanic islands or coral atolls. Around 6,000 islands formerly owned by Spain in Micronesia were sold to Germany after Spain lost its authority in the Philippines. These include the Caroline Islands, the Mariana Islands and Palau as well as other possessions.
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Which country has two capitals?
Germany
Vatican City
Yemen
Yemen's territory has more than 200 islands, the largest of these is Socotra. Yemen contains almost no natural resources and is among the poorest nations in the Middle East. Until 1565, Yemen was ruled by Turkey. It currently has two capitals, Sana'a and Aden.
Morocco
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Which country introduced the concept of eating salmon raw to Japan?
Norway
Norway has the world's biggest sovereign fund, where it has been saving almost all its oil money and is worth almost a trillion dollars. Norway also introduced salmon sushi to the Japanese. Norway gets 98-99% of its electricity from hydroelectric power, more than any other country in the world.
Sweden
Austria
Russia
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In what country is turning bread upside-down bad luck?
Poland
Uzbekistan
In Uzbekistan, the way to greet a woman is by bowing to her with your right hand placed over your heart. They also believe that turning bread upside down will bring you bad fortune.
Armenia
Georgia
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Which country is home to the largest cave chamber in the world?
China
Malaysia
Malaysia is home to the largest cave chamber in the world, it is the Sarawak Chamber in Gunung Mulu National Park in Sarawak, which can easily accommodate a Boeing 747. Also in Malaysia, Sabah is home to the Rafflesia, the largest flower in the world. There are more than 60 sub-ethnic groups in Sabah and Sarawak.
Turkmenistan
Azerbaijan
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Which country is on the West coast of Africa?
Senegal
There are 12.8 million people currently living in Senegal. The official language of Senegal is French, but many people still speak their own ethnic languages. Most of the people living in Senegal are Muslim.
Myanmar
Burma
Nepal
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Which country borders Lithuania?
Papa New Guinea
Belarus
Geographically, Belarus is located between Ukraine, Russia, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. The most important modern holiday is Freedom Day (on May 9th) where they celebrate the end of the German occupation during WWII.
Japan
South Korea
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Which country exports raspberries?
Serbia
Serbia is the largest raspberry exporter worldwide, producing over 30% of the total worldwide raspberries consumed. The dinar is the official Serbian currency.
Egypt
Israel
Jordan
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In which country do they speak Tagalog?
South Korea
Vietnam
India
Philippines
The Philippines was the first country in Southeast Asia to gain independence after WWII in 1945. There are 171 currently spoken languages in the country.
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Which country is famous for Oktoberfest?
Poland
Ukraine
Germany
Germany was the first country in the world to adopt daylight saving time. It occurred in 1916, in the midst of WWI, and was put in place to conserve energy. Interestingly, prison escape is not punishable by law in Germany because their law maintains that it is basic human instinct to be free, and therefore prisoners have a right to escape jail (although if caught, they're incarcerated.)
France
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Which country has the sixth largest population in the world?
Pakistan
A baby is born in Pakistan every seven seconds. In 1979 Abdus Salam won Pakistan's only Nobel Prize by sharing the physics award. Pakistan is the world's second largest chickpea producer behind India. The name Pakistan means 'land of the pure' in Persian and Urdu.
Jordan
Iraq
Turkey
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Which country is known for its storks?
Libya
Tanzania
Burundi
Lithuania
Some philologists generally agree that Lithuanian, the native language of Lithuania, is the most ancient of all living languages. Lithuania is known as the land of storks, the country's national bird, with about 13,000 pairs. In 2011, Lithuania ranked first worldwide for internet upload and download speed.
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In which country is Bangkok?
Laos
Thailand
Thailand is the only Southeast Asian country that has never been colonized by a European country. In fact, in the Thai language, the name for their country is Prathet Thai, which means "the land of the free." All the males were Buddhist monks for a bit of Thailand's history. Thaliand is where you will find both the smallest and the largest creatures, the smallest mammal in the world, the bumblebee bat is native to Thailand. Also, the largest fish, the whale shark lives in Thai waters as well.
Bangladesh
Nepal
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In which country is tea the national drink?
Morocco
Morocco is only eight miles from Europe across the Strait of Gibraltar. Morocco is one of the largest producers of illicit hashish in the world. Marrakesh, also known as the "red city," requires sun protection and headgear of some kind all year-round, even during winter. Morocco is also the largest processor and exporter of sardines in the world.
Mexico
Canada
Finland
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Which country remained neutral during WWII?
Sweden
Switzerland
Switzerland is one of the only two countries to have a square shaped flag. Switzerland is ready for a nuclear war if there ever is one. There are enough nuclear fallout shelters to accommodate its entire population. The Swiss military also keeps fully stocked artillery bunkers, disguised as country homes, in the middle of populated villages.
Finland
Iceland
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Which Balkan nation has never changed its name?
Romania
Ukraine
Bulgaria
Bulgaria is the only country in Europe that hasn't changed its name since it was first established in 681 AD. The oldest gold treasure in the world was found in Bulgaria; in 294 graves there were about 3000 gold objects that dated back more than 6,000 years. There is also a bacteria that is unique to Bulgarian air and gives it's local yogurt a unique flavor.
Poland
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Which country is home to the driest place on Earth?
Chile
The Atacama desert in Chile is the driest place on Earth, getting less than 0.05mm of rain each year. Chile is also a world class wine destination and the ninth largest producer of wine in the world.
Egypt
Kenya
China
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From which country is mega-star, Rihanna?
Finland
Barbados
The people of Barbados are called Barbadians. Barbados is an island that is completely surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean. It belongs to the Lesser Antilles which is a group of islands. Rihanna was born in Barbados in 1988.
Japan
Djibouti
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Through which country do the Hindu Kush mountains traverse?
Algeria
Israel
Afghanistan
Mobile phone coverage is available in more than 90% of the country, and mobile phones are considered to be status symbols. Arnold Schwarzenegger is the poster boy in many of the muscle building centers in Afghanistan.
Sudan
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In which country is the Amazon rainforest?
Cuba
Bolivia
Ecuador
Colombia
Located on the equator, Colombia is known for its hot weather and great coffee. The Amazon rainforest makes up 35% of the country's territory.
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Which country is cattle-obsessed?
Belize
Uruguay
Uruguay is the only country whose name in English has the same letter three times in its first five. The first European in Uruguay was a Spanish explorer Juan Diaz de Solis in 1516. He was said to have been killed and eaten by the native Charrua, which kept native Europeans away for 100 years. Uruguay is the only country that keeps track of 100% of its cattle.
The Dominican Republic
Barbados
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Which country is only considered a partially recognized state?
Australia
Suriname
Tasmania
Kosovo
Kosovo is the one of the newest nations of the 21st century and recognized by over 60 countries, including 22 EU states. It declared independence on February 17, 2008. Their natural resources include lead, zinc, copper, silver, gold, brown coal, bauxite, ignite and nickel.
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In what country was the world's oldest human skull found?
New Zealand
Syria
Tanzania
The world's oldest and earliest human skull was found in the Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania. The longest-running study of chimpanzees in the world was done in Tanzania by Jane Goodall, who studied the chimps in the 1960s. The official language of Tanzania is Swahili, but there are over 120 languages spoken there.
Russia
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In which country are the ruins of Petra?
Ukraine
Croatia
Peru
Jordan
In Jordan, they believe that praising children excessively can invite bad luck and is generally avoided. The Dead Sea or the Salt Lake in Jordan (and Israel--the border is down the middle) is the earth's lowest point and lies 402 meters below mean sea level. The country is also home to the ruins of Petra, which were featured in "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade."
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Which country has the highest capital on its continent?
Luxembourg
Ethiopia
The capital of Ethiopia is Addis Ababa and is the highest capital city in Africa, at 2,400 meters. Ethiopia is the second most-populous country in Africa, with a population of over 90 million people. There are over 80 languages spoken in this country.
Canada
India
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Which country recently declared independence in the Balkans?
Madagascar
Burundi
Montenegro
Montenegro didn't declare its independence from Serbia until 2006. It's name breaks down into two words, 'monte' and 'negro' meaning 'black mountain' and dates back to the 15th century. The countries flag features a gold lion. The flag is based on the flag that was in use during the reign of King Nicola I, who was king between 1910-1918.
Congo
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In which country do only six people live per square mile?
Kazakhstan
The name Kazakhstan translates to "Land of the wanderers." Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country by area in the world, but has one of the lowest population densities at six people per square mile. The people that make up Kazakhstan represent more than 120 different nationalities. Horse meat is an essential part of Kazakh cuisine.
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Georgia
You Got:
/50
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