East or West, Home's the Best Trivia Quiz

Answer: Nicaragua

Nicaragua also shares borders Honduras (north) and Costa Rica (south) on the Central American isthmus.

The capital city is Managua, which took on the mantle in 1852, and is located in the eastern part of the country, on the southwestern shore of Lake Managua. The main language of the country is Spanish, although there are still many active native languages spoken in the country, especially along the Mosquito Coast.

Answer: Niger

Niger takes its name from the Niger River, which flows through the southwest corner of the country. Along with Mali and Chad, Niger also borders Algeria and Libya to the north, and to the south by (from east to west) Nigeria, Benin, and Burkina Faso.

With such a large portion of the country (80%) part of the Sahara, most of the population can be found in the southern part of the country, which is also where the capital, Niamey, can be found. Niger's official (governmental) language is French, from the colonial period, but the most-spoken language is Hausa, one of ten other official languages of the country.

Answer: Laos

In addition to Vietnam and Thailand, Laos (the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia) is also bordered by Myanmar and China to the north, and Cambodia to the south.

Vientiane is the Laotian capital city, located in the northern part of the country, near the Thailand border. While Lao is the official (and majority) language of the country, French is still widely used in government and commerce, a holdover from colonial days.

Answer: Hungary

Hungary borders Slovakia and Ukraine to the north and Serbia, Croatia and Slovena to the south, along with the aforementioned Austria and Romania. Hungary's imperial power was in combination with Austria as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which lasted from 1867 until the advent of the First World War.

Budapest is Hungary's capital city, straddling the Danube and located in the north of the middle country. Hungarian is the official language, but there are an additional 14 minority languages spoken (and protected by the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages).

Answer: Angola

Angola borders Namibia to the south and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the north, but Angola's exclave province to the north also borders the Republic of the Congo.

Luanda, Angola's capital and largest city, sits on the Atlantic coast in the upper half of the country. As a former Portuguese colony, Portuguese is Angola's official language and is spoken by the majority of the population, but there are 46 other (mostly Bantu) languages spoken.

Answer: Afghanistan

Along with Iran and Pakistan, Afghanistan is bordered to the north by (from east to west) Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan. And Pakistan actually comprises Afghanistan's southern border, as well.

The four tombs in the photo are believed to be the kings of the Achaemenid dynasty - Darius I, Xerxes I, Artaxerxes I, and Darius II. Only Darius I's tomb is actually inscribed, confirming his presence.

Kabul is Afghanistan's capital city, and it lies in the eastern part of the country in a narrow valley of the Hindu Kush mountains, making it the 11th highest capital city in the world. Dari and Pashto are the country's two official languages, but Uzbek, Turkmen, Balochi, Pashayi, Nuristani and Pamiri have all been given official 'third language' status in the regions where they are most prevalent.

Answer: Czechia

The Czech Republic is bordered to the south by Austria and to the northeast by Poland, along with the already established Germany and Slovakia. Of course, for many years since the dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, Czechia and Slovakia were combined as Czechoslovakia (1918-1993).

Prague is Czechia's capital and largest city, and also the former capital of the historical region of Bohemia (as referenced in the question). In addition to the many dialects of the official Czech language, there are 14 more protected minority languages recognized in the country.

Answer: Suriname

Suriname's only other political neighbour (to the south) is Brazil, although the country also touches on the Atlantic Ocean to the north (which allows for those manatee and leatherback turtle populations).

The capital city of Paramaribo is located along the Paramaribo River approximately 15 km (9.3 miles) inland from the Atlantic coast, and it contains roughly half of the entire population of the country. Suriname's only official language is Dutch, a result of the colonial era, with an additional 14 local languages spoken.

Answer: Kyrgyzstan

Also bordering Kyrgyzstan to the south is Tajikistan and to the north is Kazakhstan. While the country is somewhat isolated due to its largely mountainous geography, it was on the path of the historical Silk Road to the Far East, which still brought the region in contact with many different cultures.

The capital of Kyrgyzstan (and largest city) is Bishkek, which is located near the Kazakhstan border approximately in the middle of the country east to west. Between 1926 and 1991, Bishkek was renamed 'Frunze' while under Soviet rule. The country is officially bilingual with the Kyrgyz language and Russian. Uzbek is the most prevalent third (unofficial) native language spoken.

Answer: Latvia

Latvia is the middle of the three Baltic republics, with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. And to the southeast, Latvia also borders Belarus. Technically, a maritime border is also shared with Sweden in the Baltic Sea.

Riga, the capital city, is the largest city in Latvia as well as being the largest city in all three Baltic republics. Latvian is the only official language of the country, but there are protections in place for Livonian (an indigenous language) and the Latgalian written language (a historical variant of Latvian). Other prominent languages in Latvia include Russian, Polish, Hebrew, Ukrainian, Estonian, Lithuanian, and Belarussian.