Countries on the equator quiz

What's on this map

The 13 countries the equator crosses, including those where it passes only through their waters. Follow the line from west to east and the list falls into place.

It reaches Africa first at São Tomé and Príncipe, a small island country in the Gulf of Guinea. On the mainland it crosses Gabon, the Republic of the Congo and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, then Uganda and Kenya, cutting through Lake Victoria on the way, and leaves the continent through Somalia.

Across the Indian Ocean it passes through the Maldives, then Indonesia, where it crosses Sumatra, Borneo and Sulawesi. Far out in the Pacific it crosses Kiribati.

In South America it starts in Ecuador, the country named after it, then crosses the south of Colombia and runs through Brazil to the mouth of the Amazon. Just as useful is knowing who is not on the line: Tanzania, Peru, Venezuela and Malaysia are all close but missed.

The ones people miss

• São Tomé and Príncipe – tiny islands off Gabon. Hook: the first country the equator meets heading east from the Atlantic.
• Maldives – an atoll chain in the Indian Ocean. Hook: the equator runs through its southern waters, between the atolls.
• Kiribati – scattered islands across the central Pacific. Hook: the only country in all four hemispheres.
• Congo vs DR Congo – neighbours across the Congo River. Hook: Brazzaville is the smaller western country; Kinshasa the giant DR Congo.
• Somalia – people stop at Kenya. Hook: the equator leaves Africa through southern Somalia.
• Colombia – people jump straight from Ecuador to Brazil. Hook: the line crosses its southern Amazon region.

How to learn it

• Do Find on the map in order along the line: Africa west to east, then Asia, the Pacific and South America.
• Remember the three island countries as a set: São Tomé and Príncipe, Maldives and Kiribati.
• Run Capitals once: Quito, Libreville and Kampala lie close to the line.
• Done is a perfect score in every mode, which is realistic with 13 countries.