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Organisations, Capitals, Currencies & Parliaments

⏱ 5 min read🧩 6 question types🎯 21 practice Q

The idea in one minute

This topic is four match-the-column lists. They are organisation and headquarters, currency and country, parliament and country, and capitals. Learn each list in small city groups.

United Nations family

The UN was founded on 24 October 1945. Its headquarters is in New York.

Body	HQ	Founded
UNICEF	New York	1946
UNDP	New York	1965
UNESCO	Paris	1945
WHO	Geneva	1948
ILO	Geneva	1919
WTO	Geneva	1995
ICRC	Geneva	1863
FAO	Rome	1945
WFP	Rome	1961
UNEP	Nairobi	1972
IAEA	Vienna	1957
OPEC	Vienna	1960
ICJ	The Hague	1945
OPCW	The Hague	1997
IMF, World Bank	Washington DC	1944 (Bretton Woods)

Other Geneva bodies are UNHCR and WMO. IFAD is in Rome and UN-Habitat is in Nairobi.

Tip: Geneva is health, trade and labour. Rome is food. Nairobi is the environment.

Other international bodies

Body	HQ	Founded
NATO	Brussels	1949
ASEAN	Jakarta	1967
SAARC	Kathmandu	1985
BIMSTEC	Dhaka	1997
ADB	Manila	1966
AIIB	Beijing	2016
NDB (BRICS bank)	Shanghai	2015
International Solar Alliance	Gurugram (India)	2015
FIFA	Zurich	1904
IOC	Lausanne	1894
INTERPOL	Lyon	1923
ICAO	Montreal	1944
IMO	London	1948
ICC (cricket)	Dubai	1909

WWF is in Gland, Switzerland. Amnesty International is in London.

Currencies

Region	Country and currency
South Asia	India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka: rupee. Bangladesh: taka. Bhutan: ngultrum (at par with the Indian rupee). Maldives: rufiyaa. Afghanistan: afghani
East and South-East Asia	China: yuan (renminbi). Japan: yen. South Korea: won. Thailand: baht. Malaysia: ringgit. Indonesia: rupiah. Vietnam: dong. Philippines: peso. Myanmar: kyat. Mongolia: tugrik
West Asia and Russia	Russia: rouble. Turkey: lira. Saudi Arabia: riyal. UAE: dirham. Israel: shekel. Iran: rial
The West	UK: pound sterling. USA, Canada, Australia: dollar. Eurozone: euro. Switzerland: franc
Africa	South Africa: rand. Nigeria: naira. Kenya: shilling. Egypt: pound
Latin America	Brazil: real. Argentina, Mexico: peso

Tip: East of India: Taka, Ngultrum, Kyat. That is Bangladesh, Bhutan, Myanmar.

Parliaments of the world

Country	Parliament
India	Sansad (Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha)
Israel	Knesset
Japan	Diet
China	National People's Congress
Iran	Majlis
Germany	Bundestag
Russia	Federal Assembly (lower house: Duma)
Bangladesh	Jatiya Sangsad
Pakistan	Majlis-e-Shoora
France, South Korea	National Assembly
Turkey	Grand National Assembly
Nordic: Denmark, Norway, Sweden	Folketing, Storting, Riksdag
Poland	Sejm
Iceland	Althing (among the oldest)
USA	Congress
UK	Parliament (Commons and Lords)

Capitals often asked

Australia: Canberra. Canada: Ottawa. Brazil: Brasilia.
New Zealand: Wellington. Nigeria: Abuja. Turkey: Ankara.
Myanmar: Nay Pyi Taw. Kazakhstan: Astana.
Sri Lanka: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte (administrative).

Question types you will see

Each type: how to recognise it, the method step by step, and one question to try.

Type 1very common3 practice Q

UN bodies and their headquarters

How to spot it:

The stem asks where UNESCO, WHO, FAO or UNICEF is headquartered.

Method

Group by city: New York, Geneva, Paris, Rome, Nairobi, Vienna, The Hague.
Use the theme: health, trade and labour to Geneva; food to Rome.
Remember UNESCO alone in Paris.

Why it works:

City groups turn twenty bodies into seven lists.

Try this

The International Court of Justice sits in which city?

Show solution

The ICJ is a UN court.
It sits at The Hague, in the Peace Palace.
The UN itself is in New York.

Answer

The Hague

Type 2very common4 practice Q

International bodies, headquarters and founding years

How to spot it:

The stem names NATO, ASEAN, SAARC, ADB, AIIB, FIFA or ICC and asks the HQ or year.

Method

Recall the second table.
Pair regional groups: Brussels, Jakarta, Kathmandu, Dhaka.
Pair banks: ADB Manila, AIIB Beijing, NDB Shanghai.
Pair sport bodies: FIFA Zurich, IOC Lausanne, ICC Dubai.

Why it works:

Each body has one city and one year.

Try this

The International Solar Alliance, founded at India's initiative, has its headquarters in which city?

Show solution

The alliance was founded in 2015.
Its headquarters is in Gurugram, India.
It is the first treaty-based international organisation headquartered in India.

Answer

Gurugram

Type 3very common4 practice Q

Currency and its country

How to spot it:

The stem asks the currency of Bangladesh, Thailand, Indonesia or South Africa.

Method

Use the region table.
Do South Asia first: taka, ngultrum, rufiyaa, afghani, and rupee elsewhere.
Then East Asia: yuan, yen, won, baht, ringgit, rupiah, dong, kyat.
Then the rest: rouble, riyal, dirham, shekel, rand, naira, real, peso.

Why it works:

Regions reduce the currency list to a few short groups.

Try this

The currency of Indonesia is the what?

Show solution

Indonesia is in South-East Asia.
Its currency is the rupiah.
Malaysia uses the ringgit, Thailand the baht, Vietnam the dong.

Answer

Rupiah

Type 4very common4 practice Q

Parliament and its country

How to spot it:

The stem asks whose parliament is the Knesset, Diet, Majlis or Bundestag, or whose lower house is the Duma.

Method

Recall the core pairs: Israel Knesset, Japan Diet, Iran Majlis, Germany Bundestag.
Add the Nordic set: Folketing, Storting, Riksdag.
Add Russia: Federal Assembly, with the Duma as lower house.

Why it works:

Parliament names are unique, so the pair table is enough.

Try this

The Bundestag is the lower house of the parliament of which country?

Show solution

The Bundestag is German.
The Diet is Japan's; the Knesset is Israel's; the Riksdag is Sweden's.

Answer

Germany

Type 5common3 practice Q

Organisation and its founding year

How to spot it:

The stem asks when WHO, ASEAN or NATO was established, or names the Bretton Woods twins.

Method

Anchor 1945: UN (24 Oct), FAO (16 Oct), UNESCO.
Anchor 1944: IMF and World Bank at Bretton Woods.
Line up the rest: WHO 1948, NATO 1949, IAEA 1957, OPEC 1960, ASEAN 1967, SAARC 1985, WTO 1995.
Remember older bodies: ILO 1919, ICRC 1863, FIFA 1904, IOC 1894.

Why it works:

The years form a single time line.

Try this

The IMF and the World Bank were conceived at which 1944 conference?

Show solution

Both were set up in 1944.
The conference was at Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA.
So they are called the Bretton Woods twins.

Answer

Bretton Woods

Type 6common

Capital cities often confused

How to spot it:

The stem asks the capital of Australia, Canada, Brazil, Turkey or Myanmar.

Method

Recall the list: Canberra, Ottawa, Brasilia, Ankara, Nay Pyi Taw.
Reject the big city: not Sydney, Toronto or Rio.
Add the rest: Wellington, Abuja, Astana.

Why it works:

The largest city is usually the wrong option.

Try this

What is the capital of Australia?

Show solution

The largest city is Sydney, but it is not the capital.
The capital is Canberra.

Answer

Canberra

Shortcuts that save time

⚡ Geneva, Rome, Nairobi

Geneva holds health, trade and labour bodies: WHO, WTO, ILO. Rome holds food bodies: FAO, WFP, IFAD. Nairobi holds UNEP, the environment body.

Example

The headquarters of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is in which city?

Show solution

FAO is a food body.
Food bodies sit in Rome.

Answer

Rome

⚡ Neighbour currencies

East of India: Bangladesh uses the taka, Bhutan the ngultrum and Myanmar the kyat. Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan use the rupee.

Mistakes to avoid

Where most students lose marks on this subtopic.

Mistake 01

Placing UNESCO in Geneva.

UNESCO is in Paris.

Mistake 02

Mixing the Diet and the Knesset.

Japan's parliament is the Diet. Israel's is the Knesset.

Mistake 03

Naming Sydney as Australia's capital.

The capital is Canberra.

Mistake 04

Naming Toronto as Canada's capital.

The capital is Ottawa.

Mistake 05

Putting the WTO in Washington.

The WTO is in Geneva. The IMF and World Bank are in Washington DC.

Quick revision

Read this the night before the exam.

New York: UN, UNICEF, UNDP. Geneva: WHO, ILO, WTO, ICRC. Paris: UNESCO. Rome: FAO, WFP.
Nairobi: UNEP. Vienna: IAEA, OPEC. The Hague: ICJ, OPCW. Washington DC: IMF, World Bank.
Brussels NATO, Jakarta ASEAN, Kathmandu SAARC, Manila ADB, Dubai ICC, Lausanne IOC, Lyon INTERPOL.
Taka Bangladesh, ngultrum Bhutan, kyat Myanmar, baht Thailand, rand South Africa, real Brazil.
Knesset Israel, Diet Japan, Majlis Iran, Bundestag Germany, Duma Russia, Folketing Denmark, Storting Norway.
Founding years: ILO 1919, UN and FAO 1945, WHO 1948, NATO 1949, ASEAN 1967, SAARC 1985, WTO 1995.

Practice: 21 questions

Sets of 10, mixed across the question types above. Every answer has a step-by-step explanation.

Topic test · 10 questions

Suggested time 3 min · wrong answers go to your mistake notebook automatically.

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