Capital Cities of South America Quiz

Why South America Is an Easy Continent to Master

South America is the friendliest continent for a capitals quiz because it has only 12 sovereign countries — the fewest of any populated continent except Oceania. Learn a dozen capitals and you have covered the entire landmass.

Most of the capitals are also the largest and most famous city in their country: Buenos Aires, Lima, Santiago, Bogotá, and Caracas are all both capital and primary city. That one-to-one mapping makes South America far less error-prone than Europe or North America, where capitals are often not the biggest city.

The Two Capitals That Catch People Out

Two South American capitals reliably cause confusion:

Bolivia — Sucre is the constitutional (legal) capital and home to the Supreme Court, but La Paz is the seat of government and the executive and legislature. Quizzes accept either, but "Sucre" is the technically correct constitutional capital.

Ecuador — the capital is Quito, high in the Andes, not the larger coastal port of Guayaquil. Like Canada's Ottawa, the capital is not the biggest city.

The Guianas add a final twist: Guyana's capital is Georgetown, Suriname's is Paramaribo, and French Guiana (an overseas department of France) has Cayenne — three capitals people rarely learn.

Capitals by Region

Grouping South America by geography makes the list quick to memorise:

Andean west — Bogotá (Colombia), Quito (Ecuador), Lima (Peru), La Paz/Sucre (Bolivia), Santiago (Chile). All strung along the Andes mountain range.

Atlantic south — Buenos Aires (Argentina), Montevideo (Uruguay), Asunción (Paraguay), Brasília (Brazil). Brasília is the standout: a purpose-built capital inaugurated in 1960 to pull development inland from Rio de Janeiro.

Northern coast — Caracas (Venezuela), Georgetown (Guyana), Paramaribo (Suriname).