Balkans Map Quiz at a Glance
The Balkan countries are Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Greece, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Slovenia, with the European part of Turkey. This page has them all on a map, with their flags and capitals, and a free quiz: find each one, then find it from its capital, then try the ten our players miss most.
- On the map
- 12, with Turkey
- Former Yugoslavia
- 7 of them
- Largest
- Romania, 238,391 km² (Turkey aside)
- Smallest
- Kosovo, 10,908 km²
- Hardest to place
- Slovenia, right only half the time
- Rounds
- Countries, capitals, the hardest 10
How to Play the quiz
- Click any country on the map to see its name before you start.
- Pick a round. In Countries, a country is named and you click it. In Capitals, a capital is named and you click its country.
- The Hardest 10 round asks the nine Balkan countries our players get wrong most often on the Europe map, starting with Slovenia, plus Kosovo.
- Kosovo and Montenegro are small, so on a phone you can zoom in. There is no time limit, and the right country turns green after every answer.
The Balkans take their name from the Balkan Mountains in Bulgaria. The peninsula runs from Slovenia and Croatia in the northwest to Greece in the south, between the Adriatic, the Aegean and the Black Sea. Seven of its countries were part of Yugoslavia until the 1990s.
Slovenia or Slovakia?
This is the mix-up our players make most: on the Europe map, Slovenia is right only half the time, and the wrong click is nearly always Slovakia. Slovenia is the small country at the top of the Adriatic, between Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia; its capital is Ljubljana. Slovakia is further north, next to Czechia, Poland and Hungary, with Bratislava as its capital. A memory trick: Slovenia is next to the sea.
The Break-up of Yugoslavia
Yugoslavia was one country from 1918 until it broke apart in the 1990s. Seven countries on this map came out of it: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Slovenia and Kosovo. Slovenia and Croatia declared independence in 1991, North Macedonia in 1991, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1992, Montenegro in 2006 and Kosovo in 2008.
Which Countries Count as the Balkans?
Geographers draw the line in different places. The core is the peninsula south of the Danube and Sava rivers: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, with Greece. Croatia, Slovenia and Romania are often included for history and culture, though much of them lies north of the line. Only East Thrace, the small corner of Turkey around Istanbul and Edirne, is Balkan; the rest of Turkey is in Asia. Moldova, often lumped in, is usually counted as Eastern Europe instead.
Kosovo
Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. About 100 UN member states recognise it, including the United States and most of the EU; Serbia, Russia, China and five EU members do not. This page shows it as most maps do, with its capital Pristina, without taking a side.
The Balkan Countries and Their Capitals
In alphabetical order. Turkey is listed for East Thrace, its European part.
| # | Country | Capital | Population | Area |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Albania | Tirana | 2.3 million | 28,748 km² |
| 2 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | Sarajevo | 3.1 million | 51,209 km² |
| 3 | Bulgaria | Sofia | 6.4 million | 110,879 km² |
| 4 | Croatia | Zagreb | 3.9 million | 56,594 km² |
| 5 | Greece | Athens | 10.4 million | 131,990 km² |
| 6 | Kosovo | Pristina | about 1.6 million | 10,908 km² |
| 7 | Montenegro | Podgorica | 623,129 | 13,812 km² |
| 8 | North Macedonia | Skopje | 1.8 million | 25,713 km² |
| 9 | Romania | Bucharest | 19 million | 238,391 km² |
| 10 | Serbia | Belgrade | 6.5 million | 88,361 km² |
| 11 | Slovenia | Ljubljana | 2.1 million | 20,273 km² |
| 12 | Turkey | Ankara | 85.9 million | 783,562 km² |
Frequently Asked Questions
What countries are in the Balkans?
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Greece are always included; Croatia, Slovenia and Romania usually are; and Turkey has a small European part, East Thrace.
Why is it called the Balkans?
After the Balkan Mountains, which cross Bulgaria from the Serbian border to the Black Sea. "Balkan" is an old Turkish word for a wooded mountain range.
What is the largest Balkan country?
Romania, at 238,391 km², then Greece. Turkey is far larger, but only about 3% of it is in Europe.
What is the difference between Slovenia and Slovakia?
Slovenia is on the Adriatic, between Italy and Croatia, with Ljubljana as its capital. Slovakia is landlocked further north, between Czechia and Hungary, with Bratislava as its capital. Players mix them up more than any other pair on our Europe map.
Which Balkan countries were part of Yugoslavia?
Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Slovenia.
Is the quiz free?
Yes. It runs in your browser, on a phone or a computer, with no download and no account.
Made by Kashif Sulehria in Lahore, Pakistan. Updated October 30, 2026.