Geography Speedrun

The big picture

• 7 continents: Africa, Antarctica, Asia, Australia (Oceania), Europe, North America, South America.
• 5 oceans: Pacific (the biggest), Atlantic, Indian, Southern and Arctic.
• About 195 countries: 193 UN members plus two observers, Vatican City and Palestine.

Records

• Biggest country: Russia, spanning 11 time zones.
• Smallest country: Vatican City, inside Rome.
• Most people: India, which passed China in 2023.
• Highest mountain: Mount Everest, 8,849 m, on the Nepal–China border.
• Longest river: the Nile, though some measurements give it to the Amazon.
• Biggest desert: Antarctica (a desert means very little rain, not heat). The Sahara is the biggest hot one.

Capitals people get wrong

• Australia: not Sydney, it’s Canberra.
• Canada: not Toronto, it’s Ottawa.
• Turkey: not Istanbul, it’s Ankara.
• Brazil: not Rio de Janeiro, it’s Brasília.
• New Zealand: not Auckland, it’s Wellington.
• Nigeria: not Lagos, it’s Abuja.
• Switzerland: not Zurich or Geneva, it’s Bern.

Quick hits

• The equator splits Earth into Northern and Southern hemispheres. Seasons are flipped, so Christmas is summer in Australia.
• Africa has the most countries of any continent: 54.
• Istanbul sits on two continents, Europe and Asia.