About Basic General Knowledge
Basic general knowledge is the first thing a general knowledge paper asks and the last thing candidates revise: the capital, the currency and the continent of a country. This topic covers about sixty countries, and it includes the ones whose capital is not the obvious city.
What you need to understand
- Learn the capital and the currency together for each country, since the two questions are asked in the same way and one reinforces the other.
- The capitals that are not the largest city are the ones asked about: Canberra rather than Sydney, Ottawa rather than Toronto, Brasilia rather than Rio de Janeiro, Bern rather than Zurich, and Ankara rather than Istanbul.
- Some countries share a currency with others, and the euro is the clearest case: France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Ireland, Belgium and the Netherlands all use it in this list.
- Several countries share the name of a currency without sharing the currency: India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Mauritius and the Seychelles all use rupees, and each is its own currency.
- The peso is used in Mexico, Cuba, Argentina, Chile and Colombia, again as separate currencies.
- A few capitals are notable for the country's other arrangements: South Africa's seat of government is Pretoria, which is the answer expected although the country has more than one capital.
- Some countries lie in more than one continent, and the entries say so: Turkey lies in Asia and Europe, and Russia in both as well.
- The countries of South Asia are learned together: India, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives, with Pakistan also in the region.
- The Gulf states are a group of their own, and their currencies are all dinars, riyals or dirhams, which is why the questions distinguish them by the country rather than by the currency.
- The African capitals are asked less often and are learned with the country: Nairobi in Kenya, Abuja in Nigeria, Accra in Ghana, Addis Ababa in Ethiopia and Rabat in Morocco.
- The Americas divide clearly: Ottawa and Washington to the north, Mexico City and Havana in between, and Brasilia, Buenos Aires, Santiago, Lima and Bogota to the south.
- Two southern capitals are famous for being inland and planned: Canberra and Brasilia, both built to settle a rivalry between larger cities.
- Nothing here is a currency in the course of being replaced, and no country whose capital is in dispute is included, so the answers do not date.
How to work through these questions
- Learn the country with all three facts at once - capital, currency and continent - rather than in three separate passes.
- Start with the capitals that are not the largest city, and with the countries whose currency is not the obvious one.
- Group by region: South Asia, the Gulf, Africa, Europe, the Americas and Oceania. Regional grouping makes the currencies easier because neighbours often share a family of names.
- For the euro countries, learn them as a list, since the currency answer is the same for all of them and the question then turns on the country.
- Where a country spans two continents, learn the answer as the pair rather than choosing one.
- Use the continent question as the easiest of the three; if the continent is certain, the capital and currency options are usually easy to narrow.
Mistakes that cost marks
- Answering Sydney for the capital of Australia, which is Canberra.
- Giving Toronto for Canada, which is Ottawa, and Rio de Janeiro for Brazil, which is Brasilia.
- Answering Zurich for Switzerland, which is Bern, and Istanbul for Turkey, which is Ankara.
- Assuming that every country in the Gulf uses the same currency; they are separate dinars, riyals and dirhams.
- Giving a single continent for Turkey or for Russia, both of which lie in two.
- Mixing up the rupee of India with the rupee of Nepal or Sri Lanka, which are separate currencies.
- Answering Colombo for Sri Lanka, whose official capital is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte.
- Giving Cape Town or Johannesburg for the seat of government of South Africa; the answer expected is Pretoria.
Worked example
What is the capital of Australia?
- Australia is in Oceania, which places it with New Zealand in the table.
- The largest city is Sydney, but the question asks for the capital, and a country's capital is not always its largest city.
- Canberra was built inland as a compromise between Sydney and Melbourne, which is why it is the capital rather than either of them.
- The capital of Australia is Canberra.
Answer: Canberra
Practice questions with answers
A few Basic General Knowledge questions with the full solution shown, so you can see
how the method is applied before you attempt the timed set.
Question 1
In which continent is Indonesia?
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A
Asia and Europe
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B
North America
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C
Africa
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D
Asia
Answer: Option D — with explanation
Indonesia has its capital at Jakarta, uses the rupiah and lies in Asia.
The capitals worth learning first are the ones that are not the largest city - Canberra, Ottawa, Brasilia, Bern, Ankara - because those are the ones that are asked. Currencies are best learned in families: the rupee and the taka in South Asia, the euro across much of Europe, and the peso and the dollar in the Americas.
Common mistakes
- this country lies in another continent: Asia and Europe
- this country lies in another continent: North America
- this country lies in another continent: Africa
Question 2
In which continent is Singapore?
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A
Asia and Europe
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B
Asia
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C
Oceania
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D
Europe and Asia
Answer: Option B — with explanation
Singapore has its capital at Singapore, uses the Singapore dollar and lies in Asia.
The capitals worth learning first are the ones that are not the largest city - Canberra, Ottawa, Brasilia, Bern, Ankara - because those are the ones that are asked. Currencies are best learned in families: the rupee and the taka in South Asia, the euro across much of Europe, and the peso and the dollar in the Americas.
Common mistakes
- this country lies in another continent: Europe and Asia
- this country lies in another continent: Oceania
- this country lies in another continent: Asia and Europe
Question 3
Which of these is the currency of Mongolia?
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A
the rufiyaa
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B
the Iraqi dinar
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C
the tugrik
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D
the Qatari riyal
Answer: Option C — with explanation
Mongolia has its capital at Ulaanbaatar, uses the tugrik and lies in Asia.
The capitals worth learning first are the ones that are not the largest city - Canberra, Ottawa, Brasilia, Bern, Ankara - because those are the ones that are asked. Currencies are best learned in families: the rupee and the taka in South Asia, the euro across much of Europe, and the peso and the dollar in the Americas.
Common mistakes
- this is the currency of another country: the rufiyaa
- this is the currency of another country: the Qatari riyal
- this is the currency of another country: the Iraqi dinar
Question 4
Which of these is the currency of Nigeria?
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A
the tugrik
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B
the naira
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C
the kyat
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D
the Indian rupee
Answer: Option B — with explanation
Nigeria has its capital at Abuja, uses the naira and lies in Africa.
The capitals worth learning first are the ones that are not the largest city - Canberra, Ottawa, Brasilia, Bern, Ankara - because those are the ones that are asked. Currencies are best learned in families: the rupee and the taka in South Asia, the euro across much of Europe, and the peso and the dollar in the Americas.
Common mistakes
- this is the currency of another country: the kyat
- this is the currency of another country: the tugrik
- this is the currency of another country: the Indian rupee
Question 5
Myanmar uses which of these currencies?
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A
the kyat
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B
the Sri Lankan rupee
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C
the taka
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D
the Egyptian pound
Answer: Option A — with explanation
Myanmar has its capital at Naypyidaw, uses the kyat and lies in Asia.
The capitals worth learning first are the ones that are not the largest city - Canberra, Ottawa, Brasilia, Bern, Ankara - because those are the ones that are asked. Currencies are best learned in families: the rupee and the taka in South Asia, the euro across much of Europe, and the peso and the dollar in the Americas.
Common mistakes
- this is the currency of another country: the Sri Lankan rupee
- this is the currency of another country: the taka
- this is the currency of another country: the Egyptian pound
Frequently asked questions
How many countries do I need?
About sixty cover what competitive papers ask, and they are the countries that appear again and again. Beyond those, a question is as likely to come from current affairs as from a list like this.
Should I learn the currencies of every country?
No. Learn the ones that are distinctive or that share a name with another currency, because those are the ones that are asked. The euro is the largest single group.
Why does South Africa have three capitals?
Its powers are divided: Pretoria is the executive seat, Cape Town the legislative and Bloemfontein the judicial. The answer a reference work gives for the capital is Pretoria.
Is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte really the capital of Sri Lanka?
It is the official capital. Colombo is the commercial capital and the largest city, and questions test the distinction, so both names are worth knowing.
Where does this topic appear in a paper?
At the beginning of the general knowledge section, and in almost every examination that has one. It is also the easiest place to score, since the list is finite and the facts are settled.
