North American Capitals Quiz

How many North American capitals can you actually name? The North American Capitals Quiz gives you a country and asks for one thing: its capital city. It covers all 23 sovereign countries of North America, Central America and the Caribbean — from the easy anchors like Ottawa, Washington D.C. and Mexico City, through the Central American seven, to the island capitals that catch nearly everyone out: Basseterre, Castries, Roseau, Kingstown.

Most quizzes make you play this region in pieces — one game for North and Central America, another for the Caribbean, and a third if you want Mexico included. This one puts the whole region on a single interactive map. The small island states are drawn as tappable markers, so Saint Kitts and Nevis is exactly as easy to hit on a phone as Canada is.

Play it whichever way suits you: name the capital from a country, flip it and name the country from a capital, or locate the country on the map. New every day, a Daily Challenge of ten capitals that is identical for everyone, with a shareable results grid and a streak to keep going. Or race the clock in a 90-second Speed Run.

How to play

  1. Daily Challenge — ten North American capitals to name, the same for every player today. Finish to reveal your green-and-red result grid, share it, and build a streak.
  2. Name the Capital — you are given a country and name its capital, by multiple choice (Easy), first-letter hint (Medium) or typing it from memory (Hard).
  3. Name the Country — the reverse: a capital city is shown and you name the country it belongs to.
  4. Locate — you are given a capital and click the country it belongs to on the map. Island states are marked with dots so they stay easy to tap.
  5. Speed Run — 90 seconds, as many capitals as you can answer.
  6. Learn Mode — no scoring. Tap any country to see its capital, subregion, area, main language and currency before you test yourself.

How many capitals are there in North America?

There are 23 — one for each sovereign country in North America, Central America and the Caribbean. That number surprises people, because North America is often taught as just three countries. The other twenty are the seven Central American states and thirteen independent Caribbean nations.

You will see other quizzes claim 12, 18 or 24. The difference is always territories. Puerto Rico (San Juan) is part of the United States; Greenland (Nuuk) is part of Denmark; Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and Turks and Caicos are British; Aruba and Curaçao are Dutch; Guadeloupe and Martinique are French. They have capitals, but they are not sovereign countries — so this quiz leaves them out and the count stays at a clean 23.

The ones people get wrong

  • Belize — the capital is Belmopan, not Belize City. The capital moved inland in 1970 after Hurricane Hattie destroyed much of the old coastal capital.
  • Canada — Ottawa, not Toronto or Montreal. Ottawa was chosen as a compromise between English and French Canada.
  • The Lesser Antilles — Basseterre (Saint Kitts and Nevis), Castries (Saint Lucia), Roseau (Dominica), Kingstown (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) and St. George’s (Grenada) are the five that separate casual players from strong ones.
  • Saint John’s vs Saint George’s — Saint John’s is Antigua and Barbuda; St. George’s is Grenada. Easy to swap under time pressure.

Data and method

Country names, capitals, subregions, areas, languages and currencies come from mledoze/countries (ODbL). The map is Natural Earth 1:50m geometry via world-atlas (public domain), joined to the country data on ISO-3166 numeric codes.

The set is defined as UN member states with a capital whose subregion is North America, Central America or the Caribbean. Everything is bundled into the quiz when it is built, so the game makes no external calls while you play — it runs entirely in your browser, works offline once loaded, and stores your scores and streak only on your own device.

Frequently asked questions

How many countries and capitals are in this quiz?

All 23 sovereign countries of North America, Central America and the Caribbean, each with its capital. Dependencies and overseas territories such as Puerto Rico, Greenland, Bermuda, Aruba and Martinique are not included, because they are not independent countries.

Is it free?

Yes — completely free, with no account, no sign-up and no limit on how many times you can play.

Does it work on mobile?

Yes. It is built mobile-first: pinch to zoom, drag to pan, and every answer button is a full-size touch target. The small Caribbean states are drawn as marker dots with a generous tap area, so they are just as easy to hit on a phone as the large countries.

How does the Daily Challenge work?

Every day the quiz picks ten capitals from a seed based on the date, so every player worldwide gets exactly the same ten questions that day. When you finish you get an emoji result grid you can copy and share, plus a streak counter that grows each consecutive day you play.

Why is Belize’s capital Belmopan and not Belize City?

Belize City was the capital until 1970. After Hurricane Hattie devastated it in 1961, the government built a new, purpose-built capital about 80 km inland at Belmopan. Belize City is still the largest city, which is why it is such a common wrong answer.

Where does the data come from?

Country and capital data from mledoze/countries (ODbL licence); map geometry from Natural Earth via world-atlas (public domain).

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