Countries of the World Quiz

How to play

1. Type the name of any country in the box at the bottom of the map. Capital letters, accents and punctuation do not matter, and common alternatives such as “UK”, “USA” or “Ivory Coast” are accepted.
2. A correct name is accepted by itself after a short pause. It turns green on the map and is ticked off in its group below the map. A wrong name costs nothing; just keep typing.
3. Use the + and − buttons to zoom in on small countries, then drag to move around. With the map selected, the + and − keys zoom and the arrow keys move it. Select a country you have named to highlight it.
4. There is no timer. The game ends when you have named all 197, or press Finish at any time to end it and reveal the countries you missed.
5. Your result is saved in this browser. Once enough people have played a game, the results also show how your score ranks, and you can copy or share an image of your result, or replay.

Tips for playing

Work through one continent at a time, starting with countries you know and using coastlines and neighbours to recall the rest. Open the answer groups to check your progress. Small countries count even when they are hard to see on the map.

Build a route through the map

A route gives recall a structure. Follow a coast, move through the neighbouring inland countries, then make a separate pass for islands. The goal is to reduce the places you must hold in memory at once, not to type the biggest countries first.

When progress slows, change the scale of your search. Instead of scanning the whole world again, open one continent’s answer group and look for a gap between two countries you already named. After finishing, replay the continent with the most missed answers before trying the world again.

Which countries count?

The world quiz uses 197 entries, including Kosovo, Taiwan, Palestine, and Vatican City. Each entry appears in one of six continent groups. Dependent territories are not separate answers: on the map they are shaded as part of the country that governs them, such as Greenland with Denmark, while disputed areas such as Western Sahara stay neutral. This is a game-specific list rather than a statement about recognition or borders. The continent quizzes explain their grouping choices.

Sources

Source: Natural Earth / world-atlas · Natural Earth 4.1.0 via world-atlas 2.0.2

Public domain map geometry, simplified for display. Country outlines also use higher-precision Natural Earth overrides for small islands and microstates. The 197-answer list and continent groups are editorial choices, not a live geopolitical feed. No original collection date is recorded for these bundled map files.

• Natural Earth / world-atlas
• Natural Earth data and terms