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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Lifestyle
Gavin McOwan

Around the world in 50 countries: the globe-trotting Christmas travel quiz

A composite of an illustration of Father Christmas with travel luggage illustration and photographs of a woman in a sheer bodysuit wearing yellow and green feathers and sash at a carnival parade in Brazil, the Swiss flag, a still of Graham Chapman in Monty Python's Life of Brian and the island of St Lucia in the West Indies
Composite: Phil Hackett; Getty Images; Python/Allstar; Alamy Composite: Phil Hackett; Getty Images; Python/Allstar; Alamy

1-6

Name the six countries or territories Donald Trump has said or suggested he would like to annex, acquire or take control of.

7-10

The original Seven Wonders of the Ancient World (of which only one survives) were located in which four present-day countries?

11-15

Name the only five Caribbean countries to ever qualify for the finals of the men’s football World Cup.

16-21

The equator passes through which six African mainland countries?

22 & 23

Name the only two countries in South America that do not border Brazil.

24-28: Name these countries from their distinctive landmarks:

24

25

26

27

28

29-33: Where were these famous movies filmed? Clue: none are in the country the story is set.

29

30

31

32

33

34-38: In which county would you be if you were eating these foods?

34

35

36

37

38

39-45

There are seven Asian “stan” countries – can you name them on this map?

46-50: Name the last five countries to join the United Nations. Here are their flags to help you.

46

47

48

49

50

The answers

1 to 6 Greenland, Canada, Panama (canal), Venezuela, Mexico and Gaza

7 to 10 Greece (Colossus of Rhodes and the Statue of Zeus at Olympia), Egypt (Lighthouse of Alexandria, pictured, and Great Pyramid of Giza), Turkey (Mausoleum at Halicarnassus and the Temple of Artemis) and Iraq (Hanging Gardens of Babylon)

11 to 15 Cuba (in 1938), Haiti (1974 and 2026), Jamaica (1998), Trinidad and Tobago (2006) and Curaçao (2026, pictured)

16 to 21 from west to east, Gabon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya and Somalia

22 and 23 Chile and Ecuador

24 Mongolia (Genghis Khan statue) 25 St Lucia (The Pitons) 26 Mali (Great Mosque of Djenné) 27 Namibia’s red desert sand dunes 28 Portugal (Christ the King statue in Almada)

29 Sri Lanka, then known as Ceylon (stood in for Thailand in The Bridge on the River Kwai) 30 Ireland or England (in Saving Private Ryan, Ballinesker in County Wexford stood in for Normandy’s D-day beaches; the rest of the film was shot at various English locations) 31 Tunisia (for the Holy Land in The Life of Brian) 32 Spain (for the US/Mexico in A Fistful of Dollars) 33 The Philippines (for Vietnam in Apocalypse Now)

34 Spain (tortilla) 35 Vietnam (goi cuon) 36 Morocco (tagine) 37 Georgia (khachapuri) 38 Indonesia (satay)

39 Kazakhstan 40 Turkmenistan 41 Uzbekistan 42 Tajikistan 43 Kyrgyzstan 44 Afghanistan 45 Pakistan

46 Montenegro (2006) 47 Timor-Leste (2002) 48 South Sudan (2011) 49 Serbia (2000) 50 Switzerland (2002)

• In the mood for more? For all our crosswords and sudoku, as well as our new football game, On the Ball, and film quiz, Film Reveal, download the Guardian app. Available in the Apple App Store and Google Play.

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