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Grade 7World Capitals

World Capitals: Countries and Their Capital Cities

Grade 7 worksheet drilling world capitals, with focus on countries whose most famous city is not the capital, including Australia, Brazil, and Turkey.

18 questions · Multiple choice · Fill in the blank · True or false · Short answer · Analysis

Many students assume that a country's most famous or most populated city is automatically its capital. This worksheet challenges that assumption by focusing on world capitals that surprise even experienced geography students. Through multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, true-false, and short-answer questions, students will identify official capitals and explain the political decisions behind them. Countries such as Australia, Brazil, Turkey, Nigeria, Canada, and New Zealand all chose capitals other than their largest cities, often for reasons of geographic neutrality, regional balance, or national unity. By completing this sheet, students should be able to distinguish a capital city from a commercial center and articulate why that distinction matters in political geography.

World Capitals: Countries and Their Capital Cities — Grade 7

Read each question carefully and draw on your knowledge of world geography to complete every section of this worksheet.

Remember

  • A capital city is the official seat of national government, where legislative and executive power is concentrated.
  • Some countries built purpose-built capitals — Brasilia in 1960 and Abuja in 1991 — to promote geographic and political balance.
  • A country's largest or most famous city is not always its capital; the two roles are frequently separated by deliberate design.

Part A — Choose the correct capital city for each country

Circle the letter of the correct capital city for each country listed below.

  1. 1.

    Which city serves as the capital of Australia, even though it is neither the country's largest nor its most visited city?

    1. A.Sydney
    2. B.Melbourne
    3. C.Canberra
    4. D.Brisbane
  2. 2.

    Which city became the capital of Brazil in 1960, replacing Rio de Janeiro after being purpose-built in the country's interior?

    1. A.Rio de Janeiro
    2. B.Sao Paulo
    3. C.Brasilia
    4. D.Manaus
  3. 3.

    Which city replaced Istanbul as Turkey's capital when the modern Turkish Republic was founded in 1923?

    1. A.Istanbul
    2. B.Ankara
    3. C.Izmir
    4. D.Bursa
  4. 4.

    Which city is the capital of Canada, despite Toronto being the country's largest and most economically significant city?

    1. A.Toronto
    2. B.Ottawa
    3. C.Montreal
    4. D.Vancouver
  5. 5.

    Which city replaced Lagos as Nigeria's capital in 1991, chosen partly because of its more central location within the country?

    1. A.Lagos
    2. B.Kano
    3. C.Abuja
    4. D.Ibadan
  6. 6.

    Which city is the capital of New Zealand, even though Auckland is the country's most populous city?

    1. A.Auckland
    2. B.Wellington
    3. C.Christchurch
    4. D.Dunedin

Part B — Complete each sentence with the correct capital city

Write the correct capital city in each blank to complete the sentence.

  1. 7.

    Although Mumbai is India's largest city and financial center, the country's official capital and seat of Parliament is ____.

  2. 8.

    Brazil's current capital, ____, was constructed on the central plateau and officially inaugurated on April 21, 1960.

  3. 9.

    When Ataturk founded the modern Turkish Republic in 1923, he designated ____ as the new capital rather than Istanbul.

  4. 10.

    In 1991, Nigeria relocated its seat of government from Lagos to ____, a planned city chosen for its central geographic position.

  5. 11.

    Australia's capital, ____, was selected as a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne, both of which sought to become the national capital.

Part C — Decide whether each statement about world capitals is true or false

Write True or False on the line; if the statement is false, write the specific correction.

  1. 12.

    Sydney is the capital of Australia and the official seat of the Australian federal government.

  2. 13.

    Brasilia became Brazil's capital in 1960, replacing Rio de Janeiro as the country's seat of government.

  3. 14.

    The capital of Canada is Toronto, the country's most populous city and its leading financial center.

  4. 15.

    Ankara has served as Turkey's capital since 1923, when the modern Turkish Republic was officially established.

Part D — Answer each question about world capitals in two to three sentences

Answer each question in two to three complete sentences, using specific examples to support your reasoning.

  1. 16.

    Why do some governments choose to build a purpose-built capital city rather than using an existing major city? Name two specific examples.

  2. 17.

    How does relocating a capital to a more central location benefit a country politically, and what difficulties might such a move create?

  3. 18.

    Compare the role of a capital city with that of a country's largest city. Why might a government choose to separate these two functions?

Answer key

Part A — Choose the correct capital city for each country

  1. 1.Canberra
  2. 2.Brasilia
  3. 3.Ankara
  4. 4.Ottawa
  5. 5.Abuja
  6. 6.Wellington

Part B — Complete each sentence with the correct capital city

  1. 7.New Delhi
  2. 8.Brasilia
  3. 9.Ankara
  4. 10.Abuja
  5. 11.Canberra

Part C — Decide whether each statement about world capitals is true or false

  1. 12.False - the capital of Australia is Canberra.
  2. 13.True
  3. 14.False - the capital of Canada is Ottawa.
  4. 15.True

Part D — Answer each question about world capitals in two to three sentences

  1. 16.Example: Some governments build purpose-built capitals to avoid giving one existing city too much political power over the rest of the country, and to place the seat of government in a location that is more geographically central or politically neutral. Brazil moved its capital from Rio de Janeiro to Brasilia in 1960 partly to draw development into the interior, while Nigeria moved from Lagos to Abuja in 1991 to create a capital not identified with any single ethnic or regional group. In both cases, the original city remained the economic center of the country even after losing its status as capital.
  2. 17.Example: Moving a capital to a more central location can make the national government feel equally accessible to all regions, reduce the dominance of one wealthy coastal city, and encourage development in areas that had previously been overlooked. However, constructing a new capital is extremely costly, and a planned city may lack the established infrastructure, cultural institutions, and skilled workforce that an older city has built over centuries. Countries such as Nigeria and Brazil experienced both the benefits of geographic neutrality and the serious challenges of building functional cities almost from scratch.
  3. 18.Example: A capital city is the center of political power, housing the legislature, the executive branch, and foreign embassies, while a country's largest city is usually the center of commerce, culture, and population. A government might deliberately separate these functions to prevent any one city from accumulating too much economic and political influence simultaneously, and to ensure that the capital represents the entire nation rather than one dominant region. Australia's decision to build Canberra as a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne is a clear example of this reasoning applied in practice.

What this sheet teaches

  • Identify the official capital cities of at least eight countries across multiple continents.
  • Explain why some governments have relocated their capital to a purpose-built planned city.
  • Distinguish between a country's largest or best-known city and its official capital city.

Notes for the adult

  • Students commonly assume that the largest or most famous city in any country is its capital; address this misconception before distributing the worksheet.
  • When a student answers incorrectly, ask them to trace the historical reason the capital was moved or planned — this links geography to cause and effect.
  • A student is ready to move on when they can explain, unprompted, the political reasoning behind at least two capital relocations studied in class.

What is on the page

There are four parts to World Capitals: Countries and Their Capital Cities, 18 exercises between them. Multiple-choice, fill-in-the-blank, true or false and short-answer work, in that order, so a student who has understood the material has to show it in more than one form before the page is finished.

Part A Choose the correct capital city for each country asks six multiple-choice questions with four printed options each. Part B Complete each sentence with the correct capital city gives five sentences with a blank each and no word bank, so the wording has to come from the student. Part C Decide whether each statement about world capitals is true or false puts four statements up to be judged true or false, answered on the rule beside each one. Part D Answer each question about world capitals in two to three sentences is three short-answer questions with nine ruled lines between them, which is the part of the sheet that takes the longest.

Nine ruled lines are printed for written answers on World Capitals: Countries and Their Capital Cities, which decides how long it takes more than the question count does. The answer key prints on its own page at the end, so the sheet can be handed out without it.

What it asks of the student

World Capitals: Countries and Their Capital Cities puts about 482 words of reading in front of the student — the fact box, the directions, every question, and every printed option. That is the number worth checking against a class before it goes out, because a sheet that is pitched right on the history and wrong on the reading fails for the same child either way. The longest single prompt on it runs to 24 words.

Writing runs the other way on World Capitals: Countries and Their Capital Cities: nine ruled lines for three of the 18 exercises, and the full answer key comes to 314 words. Everything else is answered in a blank, in a box, or on the map itself, which is why the sheet takes a lesson rather than a homework slot.

Where this one sits

World Capitals: Countries and Their Capital Cities is one of ten World Geography sheets on this site and one of 14 written for grade 7. two of them share its topic, world capitals, which is worth knowing before printing two that overlap.

The closest things to it are Countries by Continent Worksheet (grade 6) and Latitude and Longitude Coordinates Worksheet (grade 5). If World Capitals: Countries and Their Capital Cities lands well, those are the ones to reach for next; if it lands badly, the analysis sheets a grade either side are usually the adjustment rather than a different topic altogether.

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This sheet: Grade 7, 18 questions — multiple choice, fill in the blank, true or false, short answer. The same topic is also written for:

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