thumbnail

Capital Cities with the Same Name as Their Country

There are 11 countries whose names are the same as their capital city. How many can you name?
Including capitals that add "City", or foreign-language equivalent
Quiz by Jerry928
Rate:
Last updated: December 24, 2019
You have not attempted this quiz yet.
First submittedJune 7, 2014
Times taken47,623
Average score63.6%
Rating4.34
4:00
Enter country name here:
0
 / 11 guessed
The quiz is paused. You have remaining.
Scoring
You scored / = %
This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%
The average score is
Your high score is
Your fastest time is
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
Country
Andorra
Djibouti
Guatemala
Kuwait
Luxembourg
Mexico
Country
Monaco
Panama
San Marino
Singapore
Vatican City
+35
Level 53
Jun 9, 2014
Sao Tome is the capital of Sao Tome and Principe (ignore the lack of accent marks....too tired to find them)
+12
Level 66
Apr 6, 2015
I agree with Spanky, Sao Tome's capital is Sao Tome. Please add
+6
Level 75
Apr 6, 2015
The country name is two words longer than the capital name.
+44
Level 52
Apr 23, 2015
And the capital of Andorra is actually Andorra la Vella, but it's still on here. Along with Kuwait, Mexico, and Guatemala which all have City in their name. I think Sao Tome should be on here.
+5
Level 75
Apr 23, 2015
Please see the instructions!
+29
Level 49
Sep 30, 2016
Andorra's capital is Andorra la Vella, so if you allow Andorra, you should also allow Sao Tome for consistency's sake. Other than that, great quiz.
+2
Level 75
Sep 30, 2016
Malbaby has answered your (Carter's) point further down.
+9
Level 48
Nov 6, 2017
Or you guys can all realize it's translated to Andorra City (or village, town, something in that area).
+5
Level 37
Jul 28, 2018
In Andorra, the capital is two words longer than the country, yet you've included Andorra so why not Sao Tome?
+2
Level 75
Jul 28, 2018
Malbaby has answered your point further down.
+15
Level 67
Jul 31, 2018
Andorra la Vella, Vella = Old, and not 'City' as in your instructions, so...
+20
Level 49
Apr 11, 2019
If this is the case then Guinea-Bissau should be included, since its capital is Bissau.
+1
Level 69
Apr 12, 2019
true that
+1
Level 49
Oct 6, 2021
Plus, Taipei is the capital of Taiwan, which is a country according to Jetpunk.com
+5
Level 48
Jan 22, 2022
brasilia brasil algier algeria tunis tunisia
+9
Level 72
Jun 11, 2014
Andorra la Vella means "Old Andorra" in Catalan. Andorra City would be "Ciutat d'Andorra", as in "Ciutat de Mallorca", the Catalan name of Palma de Mallorca.
+12
Level 75
Jul 2, 2014
Wikipedia states that Andorra la Vella means "literally, 'Andorra the City', not 'Andorra the Old' as is often misunderstood"
+6
Level 85
Jul 6, 2014
Yes, Vella is similar to our french "Ville", which means City. The funny thing is that, even in French, we mistranslate in "Andorre-la-Vieille".
+4
Level 72
Jul 7, 2014
You're right! I checked the catalan Viquipèdia as well. It seems "vella" is a local form of (standard) "vila", town or city. So the French and Spanish names are indeed mistranslations.
+1
Level 81
Oct 6, 2016
English Wikipedia states something else now, but Catalan version stays and links to Catalan encyclopedia, so it seems to be correct. The issue is that Vella means old in modern Catalan, but not originally.
+3
Level 79
May 3, 2017
The problem is that Vella is not the foreign language equivalent of city (whatever meaning is placed on the word), so the instructions should be altered or Andorra should be removed. Maybe is should say foreign language/old forms of the foreign language. But even then, Vella more closely translates to village rather than city, even if it is understood that village in this case means city.
+2
Level 75
May 3, 2017
Please see my answer to ManuB above
+4
Level 79
May 3, 2017
Currently Wikipedia states that it literally means "Andorra the Old"

The Catalan version of Viquipedia states:

"The nickname Old , ie the town , was later added to distinguish the town's namesake whole territory and perhaps also to underline their capital."

However you slice it, Vella is not the foreign language equivalent in modern Catalan. Understood that this may be a local nick name which people consider to mean city, however modern Catalan has an equivalent word for city, ciutat. You should change the instructions, or remove Andorra. Alternatively you could fill in Andorra.

+2
Level 75
May 3, 2017
Someone changed Wikipedia. Before I go and change it back, let's go for a leisurely wander through Andorra la Vella.
+2
Level 79
May 4, 2017
Beautiful! I particularly like the reference that Andorra la Vella is a giant shopping mall.
+2
Level 79
Jun 29, 2017
I enjoy your quizzes, thanks for making them. However, this is still wrong. Vella = the old city = city, is not acceptable according to the instructions. You should gray out Andorra at the very least.
+3
Level 75
Jun 29, 2017
I hear you Walacama! Truly, Wikipedia was changed since this quiz was written, so heaven knows what the true truth is on this one. There are varying opinions even on this feedback page. What's your own knowledge of Catalan? (I'm assuming that's the source language for this place name).
+2
Level 79
Jul 25, 2017
I have a basic understanding of the language. Friends of mine are professors in Barcelona that have a mastery of the language. I should have them comment on here. Someone else pointed out that the quiz says "add city to the name." Technically la Vella would also be adding the article "the." So it again does not qualify. You should gray it out and give that answer, IMO. Thanks again for the quizzes.
+2
Level 88
Jul 17, 2018
Wikipedia is not in any way an accurate source of information. If you would like, you could check to see if the swarms of common internet buffoons who write and overwrite each other on every article have footnoted a legitimate source. If so, THAT is the source, not the Wikipedia article that was written by literally anyone (more like multitudes of anyone) on Earth with an internet connection.
+1
Level 75
Jul 18, 2018
LOL. Anyway, I finally got the chance to visit there last month and it's a very cute place indeed. Unfortunately it was a Sunday and city hall was closed so I never got the chance to ask the locals which meaning applies. Sorry. Great free lunchtime concert in the city square, though. Should have asked any random audience members but to be honest I never thought to ask.
+2
Level 83
Dec 21, 2018
I think Andorra should be accepted as a type-in for Andorra la Vella
+4
Level 79
Sep 18, 2019
So, I was in Munich for a conference and met with a colleague who is a native Catalan speaker, lives in Barcelona, has family in Andorra, and visits Andorra at least once a year. I proposed our dilemma about the name Andorra la Vella. He said it is Andorra the Old, to distinguish it from the surrounding newer area. He claimed that only the city was originally considered Andorra, thus Andorra the Old refers to the old Andorra. There was a further history lesson, but I had too many beers to remember as we were in Munich. I should have recorded him. Wikipedia has changed a few times now and it now says it is Andorra the Town rather than City. I don't claim that my friend or Wiki are the absolute authority. I asked about the mistake Vila vs. Vella, he said Vella was added post 16th century when modern Catalan was already in use. There is conflicting information all over the interwebs on this subject.
+2
Level 51
Jun 8, 2020
yeah well what about brazil????
+2
Level 53
Jul 6, 2014
Needs more time. 9/11
+7
Level 83
Jul 6, 2014
Got all with 3 minutes to spare. There's more than enough time.
+17
Level 56
Feb 22, 2016
your not from Al Qaeda, are you?
+4
Level 63
Jun 14, 2017
Oh dear.
+9
Level 88
Apr 22, 2019
Seals did 9/11?
+1
Level 5
Jul 6, 2014
Missed one, I don't even try Andorra for i am so sure its Andorra La Vella... So tricky;0
+1
Level 75
Jul 6, 2014
+1
Level 51
Jul 6, 2014
How are El Salvador and San Salvador translated?
+6
Level 75
Jul 6, 2014
The Savior, and St Savior (or Holy Savior). That pairing is one of many near-misses that don't qualify here. Maybe we should also do a quiz of Country Name Fairly Similar To Capital Name, which would also capture El Salvador/San Salvador, Algeria/Algiers, São Tomé and Príncipe/São Tomé, Guinea-Bissau/Bissau, Brazil/Brasilia and Tunisia/Tunis!
+1
Level 45
Jul 6, 2014
Guinea-Bissau isn't really a near miss. They just appended the name of the capital onto the name of the country, to distinguish it from all the other countries named Guinea. If you included it, you'd have to also consider including, for example, Congo-Brazzaville.
+1
Level 60
Jul 3, 2020
For completionists sake, other a little bit further misses could be Belize/Belmopan (city is a merge of the name of the country and a river) and Maldives/Male (the country name means "isles of Male").
+1
Level 68
Jul 6, 2014
Try this game, it has all of them in it, even when the capitol name is partially involved.

http://www.jetpunk.com/user-quizzes/110568/countries-with-their-capitol-name-in-it

+1
Level 47
Jul 6, 2014
Got every items but Mexico.
+2
Level 75
Feb 2, 2015
Quiz is amazing. Five stars *****
+1
Level 33
Apr 16, 2015
Easy one...
+4
Level 29
May 25, 2015
Brasilia, Tunisia and Algeria really should be on here
+5
Level 75
May 25, 2015
Brasilia isn't a country; Tunis and Algiers both have shorter names then their respective countries.
+2
Level 56
Aug 10, 2021
(And same for Sao Tome)
+1
Level 71
Nov 1, 2015
Good quiz, if you like a challenge try my 'Mal's most difficult Capitals quiz'
+1
Level 23
Dec 5, 2015
Why not Brazil - Brasilia
+5
Level 75
Dec 5, 2015
Because they're different
+1
Level 69
Jan 24, 2017
What do you think "Brasilia" means in Portuguese??
+7
Level 75
Jan 24, 2017
Not Brazil! (The Portuguese is Brasil)
+3
Level 25
Oct 5, 2016
According to Wikipedia, it says Andorra la Vella literally means Andorra the old.
+3
Level 44
Oct 23, 2016
Read the above comments before you post. There was literally a whole discussion about it.
+4
Level 88
Dec 22, 2018
"According to Wikipedia" = "Rumor has it".
+1
Level 57
Jan 5, 2017
Does anyone else think it's kind of racist that nowhere in South America made the list? #awk
+6
Level 84
Mar 27, 2017
Not in any way, shape, or form.
+5
Level 62
Jun 24, 2018
It's a joke, folks!
+3
Level 37
May 2, 2017
Give me a BREAK! How could it be racist? - There is NO country in South America which has the same name for its capital and the country. That ends in Central America with Guatemala, Mexico and Panama!
+3
Level 83
May 3, 2017
If you were a contemporary intersectional feminist or social justice warrior then you certainly would think it was racist. In addition to literally everything else.
+1
Level 49
May 3, 2017
Missed Djibouti
+2
Level 45
May 11, 2017
Andorra is technically Andorra La Vella. So by rights Sao Tome should be accepted.
+2
Level 63
Jun 14, 2017
"_and Principe".
+2
Level 48
Nov 6, 2017
Or you can realize that "la Vella" translates to City/Village/whatever shows township.
+1
Level 60
Sep 18, 2021
Sure. As soon as you show us a language in which "and Principe" means "city." ;-)

Please, show us that language. I would really love to see the sh*tshow it would cause. :-D

+1
Level 69
Sep 9, 2017
The capital City of Andorra is not Andorra. It's Andorra la Vella
+4
Level 75
Sep 9, 2017
See discussion on this, above.
+2
Level 75
Mar 1, 2020
The caveat says "including foreign language equivalents of 'city'". "la Vella" means "the city". "and Principe" means "and Prince", so it's not included.
+1
Level 45
Dec 31, 2017
Just say a bunch of european micro nations and boom! You get 5 there
+4
Level 47
Jun 24, 2018
In Arabic, the capitals of Algeria and Tunisia are the same as the countries' names. Tunisia is just Tunis in Arabic, with its capital being the same. Algeria is Al Jazzaer, capital is the same.
+2
Level 75
Dec 25, 2018
You'll see those answers in the Arabic version of this quiz.
+2
Level 68
Dec 21, 2018
Thanks for the quiz Jerry. Sorry about all the ‘abuse’ you’ve gotten over the years for including Andorra and not including answers that shouldn’t be there. I think everything is correct and it’s a shame Wikipedia is openly editable.
+1
Level 33
Dec 21, 2018
Hey Jerry928, no offence mate but I have the same quiz, and it would be better if you would give 'em a little hint like their continent of something, BTW the quiz is great
+3
Level 68
Dec 21, 2018
This quiz was originally made over 4 years ago, so this is by far the original quiz. Not saying you directly copied of course, since this kind of thing happens often as people come up with the same great idea.
+1
Level 75
Dec 21, 2018
Useless information department: this was the very first quiz of ours that Dan featured. Those were the days...
+1
Level 68
Dec 21, 2018
Certainly not useless in my opinion! You’ve definitely come a long way from then!
+1
Level 44
Apr 11, 2019
Damn you Mexico.
+1
Level 46
Dec 10, 2019
Andorra shouldn't be there. Andorra's capital is Andorra la Vella.
+1
Level 56
Aug 10, 2021
Please read the comment section!
+3
Level 75
Feb 10, 2020
At least add a caveat that says Sao Tome and Guinea-Bissau aren't included
+1
Level 55
May 6, 2023
They're not inside their capitals names. Sao Tome is not a country. Sao Tome and Principe is.
+1
Level 38
Jun 30, 2020
How about Brazil?
+1
Level 56
Aug 10, 2021
Since when is Brasilia a country?
+1
Level 68
Oct 13, 2020
Reading comments I agree.

If Andorra is on here despite being called Andorra La Vella, São Tomé should be on here despite being called São Tomé and Príncipe.

+1
Level 75
May 21, 2021
Read the caveats. The capital's name can include "city". "la Vella" translates to "the city" so it is allowed. São Tomé is not included because it does not include the whole name of the country.
+1
Level 56
Aug 10, 2021
Not suggesting these, but thought it was interesting how many others are similar but not the same as their countries;

Algiers, Brasilia, San Salvador, Santo Domingo, Taipei, and Tunis.

+1
Level 28
Aug 13, 2021
what about Tunisia and Algeria?
+1
Level 50
Nov 1, 2021
In my opinion, Mexico, Kuwait, Guatemala, Panama, and Andorra shouldn't be there. The capitals of these are officially: Mexico: Mexico City, Kuwait: Kuwait City, Guatemala: Guatemala City, Panama: Panama City, Andorra: Andorra la Vella ('la Vella' translates to 'City').
+1
Level 75
Nov 1, 2021
Please note the instructions.
+1
Level 17
Dec 28, 2021
Plz do brazil