Capitals that aren't the biggest city

It feels natural to guess a country's most famous city as its capital. Often that's wrong. Many countries deliberately chose, or built, a different city to be the seat of government. These are the ones that catch people out most.

Several capitals were chosen to settle a rivalry between two big cities:

• Australia: Canberra, not Sydney. Sydney and Melbourne both wanted to be the capital, so a new city was planned between them. Canberra was purpose-built and Parliament moved there in 1927.
• Canada: Ottawa, not Toronto. Queen Victoria chose Ottawa in 1857, partly because it sat between English-speaking and French-speaking Canada and was further from the US border.
• United States: Washington, D.C., not New York. The capital was placed on land given by Maryland and Virginia as a compromise between northern and southern states.

• Brazil: Brasília, not São Paulo or Rio de Janeiro. Brasília was built from scratch in the late 1950s and became the capital in 1960, to draw people and investment inland from the coast.
• Nigeria: Abuja, not Lagos. Abuja replaced Lagos as the capital in 1991. Its central location was seen as neutral ground between the country's main regions.
• Kazakhstan: Astana, not Almaty. The capital moved from Almaty to Astana in 1997.

• Türkiye: Ankara, not Istanbul. Atatürk made Ankara the capital of the new republic in 1923, a fresh start away from the old Ottoman capital.
• Pakistan: Islamabad, not Karachi. Islamabad was built in the 1960s as a new capital in the north.
• Morocco: Rabat, not Casablanca. Casablanca is the economic capital and largest city; Rabat is the political capital.
• Switzerland: Bern, not Zürich or Geneva. Bern is officially the federal city, the seat of the government and parliament.

• New Zealand: Wellington is the capital; Auckland is much bigger.
• Vietnam: Hanoi is the capital; Ho Chi Minh City is larger.
• Ecuador: Quito is the capital; Guayaquil is larger.
• Tanzania: Dodoma is the official capital; Dar es Salaam is the largest city.
• Myanmar: Naypyidaw replaced Yangon as the capital in 2006.

If a country has one world-famous city and you aren't sure, pause before picking it. In the Capitals quiz on Expert, these famous cities often appear as deliberate wrong answers. In Pin Drop, knowing that Canberra sits inland between Sydney and Melbourne can save you hundreds of kilometres.