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Geography quiz: guess the country from clues

12 countries, four clues each, hardest first.

Every set comes from a past Atlas Daily puzzle. Read one clue at a time and stop when you are sure; the fewer clues you need, the better you know the world. Then open the answer.

Country 1

  1. A 2018 remeasurement including the low-water line found it 160 square kilometres bigger than believed.
  2. In 1302 its militias beat mounted French knights at the Battle of the Golden Spurs.
  3. It legalised euthanasia back in 2002.
  4. The Adventures of Tintin by Herge is the best known comic series from this country.
Reveal the answer

Belgium, Europe. Belgium is a federal constitutional monarchy in the Low Countries, divided between Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia. Its capital, Brussels, is the de facto capital of the European Union and hosts NATO. Famous for beer, chocolate, waffles and comics, it was the first country in continental Europe to industrialise.

From the Atlas Daily puzzle of 2026-09-25.

Country 2

  1. Its unifying lama died in 1651, yet his death was kept secret for 54 years.
  2. This mountain state ranks fifth among governments holding bitcoin, mined using its own hydropower.
  3. Its vast forests absorb more carbon than it emits, giving net negative greenhouse gas emissions.
  4. Its government famously frames policy around Gross National Happiness.
Reveal the answer

Bhutan, Asia. Bhutan is a landlocked Buddhist kingdom on the southern slopes of the eastern Himalayas, between Tibet and India. Its capital is Thimphu, its head of state is the Druk Gyalpo, and hydroelectricity is its largest export. Famous for Gross National Happiness, dzong fortresses and the unclimbed peak Gangkhar Puensum.

From the Atlas Daily puzzle of 2026-09-25.

Country 3

  1. It pioneered species protection in North Africa by creating the El Kouf protected area in 1975.
  2. Greek settlers founded the city of Cyrene in its eastern lands in 630 BC.
  3. Until 2011 it flew the world's only plain-coloured national flag, a solid green banner.
  4. Its capital and largest city is Tripoli, set in the northwest of the country.
Reveal the answer

Libya, Africa. Libya spans almost 1.8 million square kilometres of North African desert and coast, with its capital Tripoli and most of its people crowded along the Mediterranean. Ancient Cyrene and Leptis Magna lie near the shore, while the Great Man-Made River taps a deep desert aquifer. Muammar Gaddafi ruled 42 years until 2011, and rival governments have contested power since.

From the Atlas Daily puzzle of 2026-09-26.

Country 4

  1. A wind farm owned by the national petroleum corporation stands at Wigton in Manchester parish.
  2. It is the third-largest island in the Greater Antilles after Cuba and Hispaniola.
  3. Its unlikely national bobsled team once beat well-established rivals at the Winter Olympics.
  4. Kingston is the capital and largest city of this island country.
Reveal the answer

Jamaica, North America. Jamaica is the third-largest island in the Greater Antilles, lying about 145 kilometres south of Cuba. Independent from the United Kingdom since 6 August 1962, it is a Commonwealth realm with its capital and largest city at Kingston. It gave the world reggae, ska and dancehall, the Rastafari faith, jerk spice and Blue Mountain Coffee.

From the Atlas Daily puzzle of 2026-09-27.

Country 5

  1. Cavalry led by kgosi Moremi II defeated an Ndebele invasion at the Battle of Khutiyabasadi in 1884.
  2. Women in the northern villages of Etsha and Gumare weave prized baskets from mokola palm.
  3. In its northwest a great river fans out across desert sands instead of reaching the sea.
  4. Gaborone is its capital and largest city.
Reveal the answer

Botswana, Africa. Botswana is a landlocked southern African republic where the Kalahari covers roughly 70 percent of the territory. It became independent from Britain on 30 September 1966 with Seretse Khama as first president and now produces more diamonds than any other country. Its Okavango Delta was inscribed as the 1,000th World Heritage Site in 2014, and Gaborone is the capital.

From the Atlas Daily puzzle of 2026-09-29.

Country 6

  1. Lace from the village of Lefkara is recognised by UNESCO as intangible cultural heritage.
  2. Richard the First of England seized this island in 1191 and sold it to the Knights Templar a year later.
  3. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily and Sardinia.
  4. Its first president was an Orthodox archbishop named Makarios the Third.
Reveal the answer

Cyprus, Europe. Cyprus is the third largest island in the Mediterranean, an island republic off the Levantine coast whose capital, Nicosia, is split by a United Nations buffer zone. Settled by hunter-gatherers some 13,000 years ago and rich in copper, it gave Latin its word for that metal. Divided since the Turkish invasion of 1974, it joined the European Union in 2004.

From the Atlas Daily puzzle of 2026-09-26.

Country 7

  1. Secondary education in this country takes three years.
  2. The Jesuit ruins of La Santísima Trinidad de Paraná and Jesús de Tavarangue have World Heritage status here.
  3. A popular dish here has a name beginning with sopa but resembles thick corn bread.
  4. This landlocked country lies in the central region of South America.
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Paraguay, South America. Paraguay is a landlocked South American country with its capital at Asunción. Spanish and Guaraní share official status. Its cultural traditions include ñandutí lace and chipa bread.

From the Atlas Daily puzzle of 2026-10-01.

Country 8

  1. A Swedish architect designed 31 water towers here that locals nicknamed the mushroom towers.
  2. An unofficial stock market here once ranked third worldwide by market value, behind only America and Japan.
  3. Its national day was shifted from June to 25 February because of the fierce summer heat.
  4. It sits at the head of the Persian Gulf with Iraq to the north and Saudi Arabia to the south.
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Kuwait, Asia. Kuwait is a small oil-rich emirate at the head of the Persian Gulf, ruled by the Al Sabah family. Iraq invaded and annexed it in August 1990 before a United States-led coalition liberated it in February 1991. Oil was first struck at the Burgan field in 1938, and its dinar has been the world's most valuable currency.

From the Atlas Daily puzzle of 2026-09-30.

Country 9

  1. Three large moraine ridges called Salpausselkä run across its southern regions.
  2. An endangered ringed seal survives only in the Saimaa lake system of its southeast.
  3. In 1906 it became the first country in Europe to grant universal suffrage.
  4. Its capital city hosted the 1952 Summer Olympics.
Reveal the answer

Finland, Europe. Finland is a Nordic country of some 168,000 lakes, bordered by Sweden, Norway and Russia. Long ruled by Sweden and then an autonomous grand duchy of the Russian Empire, it declared independence in 1917 and held off the Soviet Union in the Winter War. Today it is known for saunas, Nokia, Formula One champions and topping the World Happiness Report.

From the Atlas Daily puzzle of 2026-09-29.

Country 10

  1. A war from 1867 to 1874 pitted Raja Abdullah against Raja Mahadi over the Klang chieftaincy.
  2. This country is home to 111 living indigenous languages.
  3. This federation is made up of thirteen states and three federal territories.
  4. Brunei is almost an enclave within it and is split in two by the state of Sarawak.
Reveal the answer

Malaysia, Asia. Malaysia is a Southeast Asian federation of 13 states and three federal territories, split by the South China Sea between a peninsula and the northern edge of Borneo. Kuala Lumpur is the national capital and largest city, while Putrajaya houses the executive and judicial branches. Its elected king is chosen every five years from among nine hereditary rulers, and the country is one of 17 megadiverse nations.

From the Atlas Daily puzzle of 2026-10-03.

Country 11

  1. This country was among the founding members of the Nauru Agreement.
  2. Baseball arrived in this country through the Japanese in the 1920s.
  3. The Battle of Peleliu was fought in this country during World War II.
  4. Ngerulmud is this island republic's capital.
Reveal the answer

Palau, Oceania. Palau is a Micronesian island country in the western Pacific. Its capital is Ngerulmud. It created the world's first shark sanctuary in 2009.

From the Atlas Daily puzzle of 2026-09-25.

Country 12

  1. Archaeological discoveries here include porcelain from China.
  2. Its highest point is Qurayn Abu al Bawl at just 103 metres.
  3. This Gulf country's National Day falls on 18 December.
  4. This country hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Reveal the answer

Qatar, Asia. Qatar is a Gulf country with its capital in Doha. Its economy was historically rooted in fishing and pearl hunting. It hosted the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

From the Atlas Daily puzzle of 2026-10-03.

Now find them on a globe

In the daily game you don’t type the answer. You tap it on an unlabelled 3D globe with no borders, and you score by clue and distance. Five places a day, about five minutes.

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