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Quiz about Commonly Confused Countries Conundrum
Quiz about Commonly Confused Countries Conundrum

Commonly Confused Countries Conundrum Quiz


Are Monaco and Morocco the same nation? How about Libya and Liberia? Whether they are strikingly similar in spelling or pronunciation, the names of some countries have created inconvenient confusions among travelers. Um, is it Iceland or Ireland again?

A multiple-choice quiz by Matthew_07. Estimated time: 6 mins.
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Author
Matthew_07
Time
6 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
401,471
Updated
Jan 09 24
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Easy
Avg Score
8 / 10
Plays
709
Awards
Editor's Choice
Last 3 plays: Guest 68 (9/10), Zippy826 (10/10), PurpleComet (10/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. Fancy a trip to the Congo? Then make sure you inform your travel agency the specific name of the intended African nation, otherwise you might end up in the wrong neighboring country! While both Congo-Brazaville (Republic of the Congo) and Congo-Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo) share similar cultures and languages, their capitals are located alongside the same landform.

Brazzaville and Kinshasa occupy the lands on the opposite sides of which body of water?
Hint


Question 2 of 10
2. Looking for an adventure in the Middle East? Then make sure you spell the name of the Islamic nation correctly, as the names of these two countries differ only in the fourth letter! Despite their stark similarities in terms of cultures and religions, Iran and Iraq were plagued with the notorious Iran-Iraq war. Perhaps one of the best ways to differentiate them is by looking at the glorious pasts of the two nations.

What are the alternative names that are most closely associated with these two rival neighboring countries?
Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Ready to set sail on a luxurious cruise in the West Indies? Then make sure you pronounce the name of the island nation clearly when booking your tickets with the cruise line company. Though both Dominica and the Dominican Republic are located in the Caribbean, these two island nations are very different in terms of their sizes.

Choose the CORRECT statement regarding the areas occupied by the two nations.
Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. Feeling excited to post a journal entry on your blog detailing your recent trip Down Under? Then make sure you avoid the embarrassing blunder of mistakenly using the word Austria instead of Australia! Even though the two nations have very similar spelling and pronunciation, they are approximately 14,000 kilometers apart. All of the following statements distinguish these two countries, except one.

Choose the WRONG statement.
Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Sending a postcard to your Nigerien (a person from Niger) or Nigerian (a person from Nigeria) pen pal? Then make sure you spell the name of the destination correctly! In spite of the fact that the two neighboring countries are located in West Africa, and use the same UTC+1:00 timezone, Niger and Nigeria have very different geographical regions. One of them borders the Gulf of Guinea, and another is home to the Sahara Desert.

Which of the following statements best describes Niger?
Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. Planning a romantic getaway to Europe? Then make sure you can differentiate between Slovakia and Slovenia! In 2018, the Prime Ministers of the two European nations announced their resignations in the same week, creating confusion among journalists and readers alike.

Sharing a similar flag design (stripes of white, blue, and red) and the same time zone, one might wonder if Slovakia and Slovenia are neighboring countries. Are they?
Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Booking a trip to exotic South American countries? Then make sure you articulate clearly your intended destination when buying your tickets! In addition to being located in the same continent, both Paraguay and Uruguay recognize Spanish as their official language.

While Paraguay is one of the two landlocked nations of South America, what is Uruguay's claim to fame with regard to its geographical location?f
Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Interested in finding out the former names of certain nations? Then make sure you examine the story behind Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland! In 2018, King Mswati III announced that the African nation would be renamed from Swaziland to Eswatini, and part of the reason was to avoid confusion with the European nation of Switzerland. Though pronounced similarly, Swaziland and Switzerland are located in different continents.

Which of the following aspects do Swaziland and Switzerland share?
Hint


Question 9 of 10
9. Studying little-known African nations on the world map? Then make sure you pay close attention to the nations of Mauritius and Mauritania! The names of these two nations share the same first five letters. Geographically speaking, Mauritania lies on the Tropic of Cancer, whereas Mauritius lies slightly north of the Tropic of Capricorn.

Choose the CORRECT statement regarding the landmasses occupied by these two African nations.
Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Going through the list of all the independent nations in the world? Then make sure you can tell the differences between the four countries that have the word "Guinea" in them! The four nations are Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, and Papua New Guinea. All of these four countries, except one, are located in Africa.

Which country is located in Oceania?
Hint



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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. Fancy a trip to the Congo? Then make sure you inform your travel agency the specific name of the intended African nation, otherwise you might end up in the wrong neighboring country! While both Congo-Brazaville (Republic of the Congo) and Congo-Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo) share similar cultures and languages, their capitals are located alongside the same landform. Brazzaville and Kinshasa occupy the lands on the opposite sides of which body of water?

Answer: Congo River

The Democratic Republic of Congo, also known as Congo-Kinshasa, or simply DR Congo, is almost seven times larger than its neighboring country, the Republic of Congo, also known as Congo-Brazaville or the Congo Republic. DR Congo borders the Congo Republic to the northwest.

French is the national language of both nations. Congo-Brazzaville was a former French colony, whereas DR Congo was a former Belgian colony.

The capital of the Congo Republic, Brazaville, is located on the north side of the Congo River, whereas the capital of DR Congo, Kinshasa, is situated on the south side of the same river. The two capitals are less than 20 kilometers apart. Congolese and travelers alike can commute between the two countries via cars, boats, or planes.

At 4,700 kilometers, the Congo River is Africa's second longest river, after the Nile (6,650 kilometers).
2. Looking for an adventure in the Middle East? Then make sure you spell the name of the Islamic nation correctly, as the names of these two countries differ only in the fourth letter! Despite their stark similarities in terms of cultures and religions, Iran and Iraq were plagued with the notorious Iran-Iraq war. Perhaps one of the best ways to differentiate them is by looking at the glorious pasts of the two nations. What are the alternative names that are most closely associated with these two rival neighboring countries?

Answer: Iran was known as Persia, whereas Iraq was known as Mesopotamia.

Occupying an area of 1.65 million square kilometers, Iran is the second largest Middle Eastern country, after Saudi Arabia. In contrast, the landmass occupied by Iraq is approximately four times smaller than that of Iran.

The Persian Empire, also known as Imperial Iran, is a collective term that refers to the numerous imperial Iranian dynasties centered in Iran, dated all the way back to the 6th century BCE.

Mesopotamia refers to the Western Asian region that is situated near the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers.
3. Ready to set sail on a luxurious cruise in the West Indies? Then make sure you pronounce the name of the island nation clearly when booking your tickets with the cruise line company. Though both Dominica and the Dominican Republic are located in the Caribbean, these two island nations are very different in terms of their sizes. Choose the CORRECT statement regarding the areas occupied by the two nations.

Answer: Dominican Republic is one of the largest countries in the Caribbean, and it is 65 times larger than Dominica.

Occupying an area of 48,671 square kilometers, the Dominican Republic is the second largest Caribbean nation, after Cuba. In contrast, Dominica's landmass only occupies an area of 751 square kilometers.

The official language of the Dominican Republic is Spanish. On the other hand, the official language of Dominica is English.
4. Feeling excited to post a journal entry on your blog detailing your recent trip Down Under? Then make sure you avoid the embarrassing blunder of mistakenly using the word Austria instead of Australia! Even though the two nations have very similar spelling and pronunciation, they are approximately 14,000 kilometers apart. All of the following statements distinguish these two countries, except one. Choose the WRONG statement.

Answer: Austria is located south of the equator, whereas Australia is located north of the equator.

The Republic of Austria is located north of the equator, in the Northern Hemisphere, whereas Australia is located south of the equator, in the Southern Hemisphere.

The demonyms used for the two countries also have very similar spellings and pronunciations - Austrians and Australians. Arnold Schwarzenegger is an Austrian, but Chris Hemsworth is an Australian.

In 2016, CNN covered a news that reported Austria would build a fence at the Slovenian border. However, the news network had mistakenly used the wrong graphic, which read "Australia building fence at Slovenian border".
5. Sending a postcard to your Nigerien (a person from Niger) or Nigerian (a person from Nigeria) pen pal? Then make sure you spell the name of the destination correctly! In spite of the fact that the two neighboring countries are located in West Africa, and use the same UTC+1:00 timezone, Niger and Nigeria have very different geographical regions. One of them borders the Gulf of Guinea, and another is home to the Sahara Desert. Which of the following statements best describes Niger?

Answer: Niger is a landlocked nation and 80% of its land area is covered by the Sahara desert.

Niger is a landlocked country. It borders seven countries - Algeria, Benin, Burkina-Faso, Chad, Libya, Mali, and Nigeria. The Sahara Desert occupies the northern region of the country.

On the other hand, Nigeria is not a landlocked nation. It borders the Gulf of Guinea to the south. The nation borders four countries - Benin, Cameroon, Chad, and Niger.

In 1960, Niger gained its independence from France, whereas Nigeria gained its independence from the UK.
6. Planning a romantic getaway to Europe? Then make sure you can differentiate between Slovakia and Slovenia! In 2018, the Prime Ministers of the two European nations announced their resignations in the same week, creating confusion among journalists and readers alike. Sharing a similar flag design (stripes of white, blue, and red) and the same time zone, one might wonder if Slovakia and Slovenia are neighboring countries. Are they?

Answer: No, they are not neighboring countries.

The names of Slovakia and Slovenia are equally confusing in their native languages - in Slovak, we have Slovensko and Slovinsko; and in Slovenian, we have Slovaska and Slovenija.

Slovakia is a landlocked nation. It borders Austria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Ukraine. On the other hand, Slovenia borders Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Italy, and the Adriatic Sea.

Robert Fico, the 4th Prime Minister of Slovakia, resigned in March 2020, following the murder of journalist Ján Kuciak. Miro Cerar, the 8th Prime Minister of Slovenia, also resigned in the same week, following a decision made by the Supreme Court.

In 2017, popular BBC TV show "QI", posted a tweet on its twitter page, which read, "In Washington DC, the Slovakian and Slovenian embassies meet once a month to exchange wrongly addressed mail." The statement was then refuted by officers from both embassies.
7. Booking a trip to exotic South American countries? Then make sure you articulate clearly your intended destination when buying your tickets! In addition to being located in the same continent, both Paraguay and Uruguay recognize Spanish as their official language. While Paraguay is one of the two landlocked nations of South America, what is Uruguay's claim to fame with regard to its geographical location?f

Answer: It is one of the few countries that is located completely south of the Tropic of Capricorn.

The two landlocked South American nations are Paraguay and Bolivia.

There are only four countries that are located completely south of the Tropic of Capricorn. They are Eswatini, Lesotho, New Zealand, and Uruguay.
8. Interested in finding out the former names of certain nations? Then make sure you examine the story behind Eswatini, formerly known as Swaziland! In 2018, King Mswati III announced that the African nation would be renamed from Swaziland to Eswatini, and part of the reason was to avoid confusion with the European nation of Switzerland. Though pronounced similarly, Swaziland and Switzerland are located in different continents. Which of the following aspects do Swaziland and Switzerland share?

Answer: Landlocked nation

Both Switzerland and Swaziland are landlocked nations. Switzerland is surrounded by Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Liechtenstein, whereas Swaziland is completely surrounded by Mozambique and South Africa.

On 19 April 2018, King Mswati III renamed the country, in conjunction with the nation's 50th anniversary of the nation's independence. Swaziland gained its independence from the UK in 1968.

King Mswati III commented that the main reason behind the name changing was to revert the nation's name to its ancient, native name.
9. Studying little-known African nations on the world map? Then make sure you pay close attention to the nations of Mauritius and Mauritania! The names of these two nations share the same first five letters. Geographically speaking, Mauritania lies on the Tropic of Cancer, whereas Mauritius lies slightly north of the Tropic of Capricorn. Choose the CORRECT statement regarding the landmasses occupied by these two African nations.

Answer: Mauritius is an island nation, whereas Mauritania is located on the African mainland.

Mauritania is located in Northwest Africa, and 90% of the nation is covered by the Sahara Desert. On the other hand, Mauritius is an island nation that is located in the Indian Ocean, near Madagascar and the Seychelles.

Mauritania is the 11th largest African nation, after Algeria, DR Congo, Sudan, Libya, Chad, Niger, Angola, Mali, South Africa, and Ethiopia. In contrast, Mauritius is Africa's third smallest nation, after Seychelles and São Tomé and Príncipe.
10. Going through the list of all the independent nations in the world? Then make sure you can tell the differences between the four countries that have the word "Guinea" in them! The four nations are Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Equatorial Guinea, and Papua New Guinea. All of these four countries, except one, are located in Africa. Which country is located in Oceania?

Answer: Papua New Guinea

Guinea (known formerly as French Guinea) and Guinea-Bissau are located in West Africa. Equatorial Guinea, a former colony of Spanish Guinea, is located in Central Africa. Papua New Guinea (PNG), on the other hand, is located in Oceania. PNG occupies the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, with Indonesia occupying the western half of the island.

In terms of area, PNG is a relatively big nation, compared to the three African nations. Occupying an area of 462,840 square kilometers, PNG is bigger than the three African nations combined.
Source: Author Matthew_07

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