What is the capital of Egypt?
Answer : Cairo
Cairo, on the Nile, is the largest city in the Arab world; Alexandria is Egypt's great Mediterranean port, founded by Alexander the Great in 331 BC.
Questions and answers: Africa
Revise Africa: here is a selection of questions of every level, with the answer and an explanation. To test yourself without seeing the answers, play the quizzes.
Play the Africa quizzesVery easy
What is the longest river in Africa?
Answer : The Nile
The Nile is about 6,650 km long and empties into the Mediterranean; the Congo is more powerful but only the second-longest river in Africa.
What is the name of the largest hot desert in the world, located in Africa?
Answer : The Sahara
The Sahara covers about 9 million square kilometres, nearly the size of the United States; the Kalahari and Namib are in southern Africa and the Gobi is in Asia.
What is the highest mountain in Africa?
Answer : Mount Kilimanjaro
Kilimanjaro in Tanzania rises to 5,895 m; Mount Kenya, at 5,199 m, is only the continent's second-highest peak.
In which country are the Giza pyramids located?
Answer : Egypt
The Giza pyramids near Cairo date from the Old Kingdom, around 2500 BC; the Great Pyramid is the only one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World still standing.
What is the largest land animal living in the African savanna?
Answer : The African elephant
The African elephant can weigh up to 6 tonnes, far more than a white rhino or a hippo; the giraffe is taller but much lighter.
Which ocean borders Africa to the east?
Answer : The Indian Ocean
Africa is washed by the Indian Ocean in the east and the Atlantic in the west; the Pacific and Arctic oceans do not touch the continent.
Which large island lies off the southeast coast of Africa?
Answer : Madagascar
Separated from Mozambique by a channel about 400 km wide, Madagascar is the fourth-largest island in the world; Sicily is in the Mediterranean and Sumatra in Indonesia.
Easy
What is the capital of Kenya?
Answer : Nairobi
Nairobi is the capital of Kenya; Mombasa is its main port on the Indian Ocean, and Kampala is the capital of neighbouring Uganda.
Which is the fastest land animal, found on the African savanna?
Answer : The cheetah
The cheetah reaches about 100 km/h in short bursts of a few hundred metres; the ostrich, at around 70 km/h, is the fastest running bird.
What is the capital of Nigeria?
Answer : Abuja
Abuja has been Nigeria's capital since 1991, chosen for its central location; Lagos, the former capital, is still the country's largest city.
What is the capital of Ethiopia?
Answer : Addis Ababa
Addis Ababa, whose name means new flower in Amharic, hosts the headquarters of the African Union; Asmara is the capital of Eritrea.
What is the capital of Senegal?
Answer : Dakar
The Almadies Point near Dakar is the westernmost point of mainland Africa; Bamako is the capital of Mali.
On which river are the Victoria Falls located?
Answer : The Zambezi
Victoria Falls, between Zambia and Zimbabwe, were named by David Livingstone in 1855; locals call them Mosi-oa-Tunya, the smoke that thunders.
What is the largest lake in Africa by surface area?
Answer : Lake Victoria
At about 68,800 square kilometres, Lake Victoria is Africa's largest lake and the world's second-largest freshwater lake by area, after Lake Superior.
Which strait separates Africa from Europe, between Morocco and Spain?
Answer : The Strait of Gibraltar
About 14 km wide at its narrowest, the Strait of Gibraltar links the Atlantic to the Mediterranean; the Bosphorus is in Turkey.
Medium
What is the capital of Madagascar?
Answer : Antananarivo
Antananarivo, nicknamed Tana, is built on hills in the centre of the island; Moroni is the capital of the nearby Comoros.
Which country was called Southern Rhodesia before its independence in 1980?
Answer : Zimbabwe
Southern Rhodesia, named after Cecil Rhodes, became Zimbabwe in 1980, a name taken from the ruins of Great Zimbabwe.
What is the capital of Ghana?
Answer : Accra
Accra is the capital of Ghana on the Gulf of Guinea; Lomé is the capital of neighbouring Togo and Kumasi is the heart of the old Ashanti kingdom.
What is the capital of Algeria?
Answer : Algiers
Algiers, nicknamed the White City, lies on the Mediterranean; Tunis is the capital of neighbouring Tunisia, and Oran is Algeria's second city.
Which African country was called Zaire from 1971 to 1997?
Answer : The Democratic Republic of the Congo
Mobutu renamed the country Zaire in 1971; Laurent-Désiré Kabila restored the name Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1997, not to be confused with Congo-Brazzaville.
Who became South Africa's first president after the end of apartheid, in 1994?
Answer : Nelson Mandela
Freed in 1990 after 27 years in prison, Mandela won the first multiracial elections in April 1994; Desmond Tutu had received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984.
Near which modern city are the ruins of ancient Carthage located?
Answer : Tunis
Carthage, founded by the Phoenicians, was destroyed by Rome in 146 BC; its remains lie in the northern suburbs of Tunis.
In which country is the historic city of Timbuktu located?
Answer : Mali
Timbuktu, at the edge of the Sahara, was a major centre of trade and learning famous for its manuscripts; UNESCO has listed it since 1988.
Hard
What is the official capital of Tanzania?
Answer : Dodoma
Dodoma, in the centre of the country, was chosen to replace Dar es Salaam as capital, though Dar es Salaam remains the largest city and economic centre.
What is the political capital of Côte d'Ivoire?
Answer : Yamoussoukro
Yamoussoukro, the birthplace of President Houphouët-Boigny, has been the political capital since 1983; Abidjan remains the economic centre.
Which African country escaped colonisation apart from a brief Italian occupation from 1936 to 1941?
Answer : Ethiopia
Ethiopia beat Italy at Adwa in 1896 and was occupied only from 1936 to 1941; Ghana, Kenya and Tanzania were all colonised.
What is the deepest lake in Africa?
Answer : Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika reaches a depth of about 1,470 m, making it the second-deepest lake in the world after Lake Baikal.
Which mountain range runs through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia?
Answer : The Atlas Mountains
The Atlas Mountains stretch about 2,500 km across Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia; their highest peak, Toubkal, reaches 4,167 m in Morocco.
Which West African empire was ruled by Mansa Musa in the 14th century?
Answer : The Mali Empire
Mansa Musa, ruler of Mali, made a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324, and the gold he gave away on the way made a lasting impression in Cairo.
Which 1896 battle saw Ethiopia defeat the Italian army?
Answer : Adwa
At Adwa on 1 March 1896, Emperor Menelik II's army crushed the Italian forces, which allowed Ethiopia to keep its independence.
Which sub-Saharan African country was the first to gain independence, in 1957?
Answer : Ghana
A former British colony called the Gold Coast, Ghana became independent on 6 March 1957 under Kwame Nkrumah, opening the way for other African independence movements.
Expert
What is the capital of Malawi?
Answer : Lilongwe
Lilongwe has been Malawi's capital since 1975, replacing Zomba; Blantyre is the country's commercial capital.
What is the capital of Eritrea?
Answer : Asmara
Asmara, perched at about 2,300 m, is known for its 1930s Italian architecture, which UNESCO inscribed in 2017.
What is the capital of Mauritania?
Answer : Nouakchott
Nouakchott has been the capital of Mauritania since independence in 1960, near the Atlantic coast; Nouadhibou is the country's main fishing port.
What is the smallest country on mainland Africa by area?
Answer : The Gambia
The Gambia, a thin strip enclosed by Senegal along the river of the same name, covers only about 11,000 square kilometres, the smallest country on mainland Africa.
Which country is completely surrounded by South Africa?
Answer : Lesotho
Lesotho is a mountainous kingdom completely surrounded by South Africa; Eswatini also borders Mozambique.
What is the lowest point in Africa, located in Djibouti?
Answer : Lake Assal
Lake Assal lies about 155 m below sea level and is one of the saltiest lakes on Earth; Egypt's Qattara Depression only drops to -133 m.
What is the largest country in Africa by area?
Answer : Algeria
Since South Sudan split off in 2011, Algeria, at about 2.38 million square kilometres, has been Africa's largest country, ahead of the DRC.
Which river forms much of the border between South Africa and Namibia?
Answer : The Orange
About 2,200 km long, the Orange rises in the Lesotho highlands and flows into the Atlantic, forming much of the border with Namibia.