Northern and Western African capitals: use a coastal route and name pairs

These questions ask for current national-capital relationships across northern, western and parts of central Africa. Similar country names, similar city names and historically important cities make a fixed map route more reliable than isolated memorisation.

Trace the Atlantic and inland route

Begin in the north with Algeria–Algiers, Tunisia–Tunis and Libya–Tripoli. Move west and then down the Atlantic side through Mauritania–Nouakchott, Senegal–Dakar, Cabo Verde–Praia, Guinea–Conakry, Guinea-Bissau–Bissau, Sierra Leone–Freetown, Liberia–Monrovia, Ghana–Accra and Togo–Lomé. The near-matching Algeria–Algiers and Tunisia–Tunis links are helpful, but preserve the different endings.

Turn inland through Mali–Bamako, Burkina Faso–Ouagadougou, Niger–Niamey, Chad–N'Djamena and the Central African Republic–Bangui. Then finish with the Republic of the Congo–Brazzaville, Gabon–Libreville, São Tomé and Príncipe–São Tomé, and Sudan–Khartoum. Give extra rehearsal to the paired names Guinea–Conakry and Guinea-Bissau–Bissau, and to Niger–Niamey rather than neighbouring Nigeria's capital.

Untangle the common confusions

• A similar city name can be close but wrong. Nouadhibou is Mauritania's major port, while Nouakchott is the national capital; Monrovia is Liberia's capital, not the shorter name Monroe or the unrelated Morondava.
• Guinea and Guinea-Bissau must be read to the end. Guinea pairs with Conakry, whereas Guinea-Bissau pairs with Bissau; swapping the two breaks both relationships.
• Niger is not Nigeria, so read the country name to the end before retrieving a capital. Attach Niamey to Niger and reject any capital recalled from its similarly named neighbour.
• Historical or temporary importance does not settle a current question. Saint-Louis and Kumasi carry earlier capital stories, while Dakar and Accra hold today's national roles. Sudan's national-capital entry is Khartoum after the government's 2026 return, not the wartime host Port Sudan.
• Neighbouring capitals and major domestic cities can sound regionally plausible. A famous neighbouring capital does not replace Brazzaville, while Bobo-Dioulasso, Timbuktu, Port-Gentil, Benghazi and Sokodé do not replace their countries' national capitals.

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