Countries of North America and their capitals

23 items · Ages 9+

23 countries: Canada, the United States and Mexico, the seven of Central America and the thirteen island nations of the Caribbean.

These are our neighbors: two big countries to the north and south, the narrow land bridge of Central America and a ring of islands in the Caribbean. Knowing the capitals turns a map into places with names.

How to learn it

Chunk by region. A whole continent is too much to hold at once, so the list is learned a region at a time, in groups of about five. Use picture plus words: say each pair out loud while you point to the country on a map (the Geography Ladder has maps). The map works like a memory palace, so walk it in the same direction each time. Where a capital has a story or a meaning, picture it; the hooks give some to start with. Then close the book and recall, and come back on day 1, 3, 7 and 21.

Encode make it vivid → Space bring it back on day 1, 3, 7, 21 → Retrieve pull it from your head. From the infographic Remember It on Purpose.

Countries of North America and their capitals

CountryCapitalRegion
United StatesWashington, D.C.Northern America
CanadaOttawaNorthern America
MexicoMexico CityCentral America
BelizeBelmopanCentral America
GuatemalaGuatemala CityCentral America
HondurasTegucigalpaCentral America
El SalvadorSan SalvadorCentral America
NicaraguaManaguaCentral America
Costa RicaSan JoséCentral America
PanamaPanama CityCentral America
Antigua and BarbudaSt. John'sCaribbean
BahamasNassauCaribbean
BarbadosBridgetownCaribbean
CubaHavanaCaribbean
DominicaRoseauCaribbean
Dominican RepublicSanto DomingoCaribbean
GrenadaSt. George'sCaribbean
HaitiPort-au-PrinceCaribbean
JamaicaKingstonCaribbean
Saint Kitts and NevisBasseterreCaribbean
Saint LuciaCastriesCaribbean
Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesKingstownCaribbean
Trinidad and TobagoPort of SpainCaribbean

Chunk by region. A whole continent is too much to hold at once, so the list is learned a region at a time, in groups of about five. Use picture plus words: say each pair out loud while you point to the country on a map (the Geography Ladder has maps). The map works like a memory palace, so walk it in the same direction each time. Where a capital has a story or a meaning, picture it; the hooks give some to start with. Then close the book and recall, and come back on day 1, 3, 7 and 21. · teddyrookbook.com/memory/challenges/countries-north-america/

Sources

Checked October 31, 2026. Progress is kept on this device only (per learner). More lists: all memory challenges · memory games.

@teddyrookbook GitHub Sources and credits