The full list, with the facts that come up in quizzes.
The list
- Argentina — Buenos Aires
- Bolivia — Sucre (constitutional capital, seat of the judiciary) and La Paz (seat of government, de facto capital)
- Brazil — Brasília (not Rio de Janeiro or São Paulo)
- Chile — Santiago
- Colombia — Bogotá
- Ecuador — Quito
- Guyana — Georgetown
- Paraguay — Asunción
- Peru — Lima
- Suriname — Paramaribo
- Uruguay — Montevideo
- Venezuela — Caracas
The facts that come up
- La Paz, at about 3,600 m, is the highest seat of government in the world.
- Quito, at about 2,850 m, is the highest constitutional capital of a country, and the closest capital to the equator — the equator monument is about 25 km north of the city.
- Sucre versus La Paz: Sucre is the constitutional capital and where the Supreme Court sits; La Paz hosts the executive and legislature. A quiz wanting one answer wants Sucre.
- Brasília was built from nothing in the interior plateau and inaugurated in 1960, laid out in the shape of an aeroplane or a bird.
- Buenos Aires and Montevideo face each other across the Río de la Plata, the widest river estuary in the world.
- Bogotá, at about 2,640 m, is the third-highest capital in the Americas after La Paz and Quito.
Twelve capitals is small enough to master both directions quickly — country to capital and capital to country.
Reverse-drill them →