World geography and places in the news (mapping): previous-year questions
36 real UPSC Prelims questions (2011–2026) with the official answer and a clear explanation. 25 of them came in the last five papers.
How often UPSC asks this
Questions per year, counted from the official papers.
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Which one of the following lakes of West Africa has become dry and turned into a desert ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Lake Faguibine has dried into desert (b). Lake Faguibine, near Timbuktu in Mali, was once one of West Africa's largest lakes, fed by the floodwaters of the Niger river. Droughts from the 1970s and weaker Niger floods have turned it into a dry, sandy basin. UNEP has used it as an example of climate-driven desertification. Lake Victoria (a) is in East Africa and is the continent's largest lake. Lake Oguta (c) in Nigeria still holds water. Lake Volta (d) in Ghana is one of the world's largest man-made reservoirs.
Notice Lake Chad, which has also shrunk by about 90% since the 1960s. The Great Green Wall initiative tries to halt the spread of the Sahara across the Sahel.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
The term “Levant” often heard in the news roughly corresponds to which of the following regions ?
Answer (a) & explanation
The Levant is the eastern Mediterranean shore (a). The word Levant comes from the French for "rising", meaning the lands where the sun rises, seen from Europe. It covers the eastern Mediterranean coast: Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine and Jordan, sometimes with Cyprus and southern Turkey. Option (b) describes the Maghreb plus Egypt, the North African coast. Option (c) describes the Gulf and the Horn of Africa, which are far to the south-east. Option (d) is too wide: the whole Mediterranean coast includes Europe and North Africa.
Notice that ISIS was also called ISIL, the "L" standing for the Levant. The region is in the news for the Gaza war since October 2023, and for India's proposed IMEC corridor through it.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following countries :
- 1. Azerbaijan
- 2. Kyrgyzstan
- 3. Tajikistan
- 4. Turkmenistan
- 5. Uzbekistan
Which of the above have borders with Afghanistan ?
Answer (c) & explanation
Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan border Afghanistan (c). Afghanistan's northern neighbours are Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, with much of the border along the Amu Darya river. Afghanistan also borders Iran (west), Pakistan (east and south) and China, through the narrow Wakhan Corridor. Item 2 is wrong: Kyrgyzstan is cut off from Afghanistan by Tajikistan. Item 1 is wrong: Azerbaijan lies across the Caspian Sea, in the Caucasus.
Notice that the Wakhan Corridor separates Tajikistan from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. India's land route to Afghanistan is blocked by Pakistan, so India uses Chabahar port in Iran. The Taliban returned to power in August 2021.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following statements :
- 1. Bidibidi is a large refugee settlement in north-western Kenya.
- 2. Some people who fled from South Sudan civil war live in Bidibidi.
- 3. Some people who fled from civil war in Somalia live in Dadaab refugee complex in Kenya.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Answer (c) & explanation
Statements 2 and 3 are correct (c). Statement 2 is right: Bidibidi, one of the world's largest refugee settlements, shelters people who fled the South Sudan civil war that began in 2013. Statement 3 is right: the Dadaab complex in eastern Kenya, near the border, has sheltered Somali refugees fleeing civil war since 1991. Statement 1 is wrong: Bidibidi is in north-western Uganda, in Yumbe district, not in Kenya.
Notice Kenya's other huge camp, Kakuma, in the north-west, which hosts many South Sudanese. Uganda is praised for its open policy: refugees get land to farm and can move and work freely. UPSC uses such places to test both map sense and current affairs.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following pairs :
| Region often mentioned in the news | Country
| 1. Anatolia | Turkey
| 2. Amhara | Ethiopia
| 3. Cabo Delgado | Spain
| 4. Catalonia | Italy
How many pairs given above are correctly matched?
Answer (b) & explanation
Two pairs are correctly matched (b). Pair 1 is right: Anatolia, or Asia Minor, is the large Asian part of Turkey. Pair 2 is right: Amhara is a region of Ethiopia that was drawn into the Tigray war (2020–22) and later saw its own fighting. Pair 3 is wrong: Cabo Delgado is a province of Mozambique, rich in natural gas and hit by an Islamist insurgency since 2017. Pair 4 is wrong: Catalonia, capital Barcelona, is in Spain, not Italy; its independence vote of 2017 caused a crisis.
Notice the method: such pairs test news geography. Place each region on a map with its country and the reason it was in the news, and you can answer even when the wording changes.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following pairs :
| River | Flows into
| 1. Mekong | Andaman Sea
| 2. Thames | Irish Sea
| 3. Volga | Caspian Sea
| 4. Zambezi | Indian Ocean
Which of the pairs given above is/are correctly matched ?
Answer (c) & explanation
Only pairs 3 and 4 are correct (c). Pair 1 is wrong because the Mekong, which rises in Tibet, reaches the South China Sea through its delta in Vietnam, not the Andaman Sea. Pair 2 is wrong because the Thames flows east past London into the North Sea, not the Irish Sea. Pair 3 is right because the Volga, Europe's longest river, ends in the Caspian Sea. Pair 4 is right because the Zambezi crosses Mozambique to the Indian Ocean, passing Victoria Falls on the way.
Notice the rivers that do reach the Andaman Sea: the Irrawaddy and Salween of Myanmar. The Caspian is the world's largest inland water body, with no outlet to the ocean.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following pairs :
| Sea | Bordering country
| 1. Adriatic Sea | Albania
| 2. Black Sea | Croatia
| 3. Caspian Sea | Kazakhstan
| 4. Mediterranean Sea | Morocco
| 5. Red Sea | Syria
Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched?
Answer (b) & explanation
Pairs 1, 3 and 4 are correct (b). Albania lies on the Adriatic Sea (1), facing Italy. Kazakhstan borders the Caspian Sea (3), the world's largest inland water body, along with Russia, Azerbaijan, Iran and Turkmenistan. Morocco has coasts on both the Mediterranean (4) and the Atlantic. Pair 2 is wrong because Croatia is on the Adriatic, not the Black Sea, which borders Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania. Pair 5 is wrong because Syria's coast is on the Mediterranean, not the Red Sea.
Notice the news: Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping (2023–25) forced ships around Africa. The Black Sea grain corridor is key in the Russia–Ukraine war.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following pairs :
| Towns sometimes mentioned in news | Country
| 1. Aleppo | Syria
| 2. Kirkuk | Yemen
| 3. Mosul | Palestine
| 4. Mazar-i-sharif | Afghanistan
Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Pairs 1 and 4 are correct (b). Aleppo is in Syria (1). It was a major battleground in the civil war and was retaken by government forces in 2016. Mazar-i-Sharif is in northern Afghanistan (4), near Uzbekistan, and is famous for its Blue Mosque. Pair 2 is wrong because Kirkuk, the oil city disputed between Baghdad and the Kurds, is in Iraq, not Yemen. Pair 3 is wrong because Mosul, the ISIS stronghold retaken in 2017, is also in Iraq, not Palestine.
The Assad regime fell in December 2024, and Ahmed al-Sharaa leads Syria. Notice India's links: India rescued nurses from Mosul in 2014, and 39 Indian workers were killed there by ISIS.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Consider the following pairs :
| Regions sometimes mentioned in news | Country
| 1. Catalonia | Spain
| 2. Crimea | Hungary
| 3. Mindanao | Philippines
| 4. Oromia | Nigeria
Which of the pairs given above are correctly matched ?
Answer (c) & explanation
Pairs 1 and 3 are correct (c). Catalonia is in north-east Spain, with Barcelona as its capital. It held an illegal independence referendum in 2017. Mindanao is the big southern island of the Philippines, where ISIS-linked fighters held Marawi in 2017. The Bangsamoro autonomous region was created there in 2019. Pair 2 is wrong because Crimea is a peninsula of Ukraine, annexed by Russia in 2014, not part of Hungary. Pair 4 is wrong because Oromia is the largest region of Ethiopia, home to the Oromo people, not Nigeria.
Crimea is central to the Russia–Ukraine war (since 2022). Notice the Philippines' links to India: it bought BrahMos missiles (delivered from 2024).
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Mediterranean Sea is a border of which of the following countries ?
- 1. Jordan
- 2. Iraq
- 3. Lebanon
- 4. Syria
Select the correct answer using the code given below :
Answer (c) & explanation
Only Lebanon and Syria border the Mediterranean (c). Lebanon (3) has a coastline with Beirut, Tyre and Sidon, and Syria (4) has its coast at Latakia and Tartus. Jordan (1) is almost landlocked, reaching the sea only at Aqaba on the Gulf of Aqaba (Red Sea). Iraq (2) reaches the sea only at the head of the Persian Gulf, near Basra and Umm Qasr. So any option with 1 or 2 is wrong.
Other countries on the eastern Mediterranean are Israel, Turkey, Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Notice the map points that matter today: Haifa port (Adani-run, part of IMEC), Russia's naval base at Tartus, and the Suez Canal linking the Mediterranean to the Red Sea.
Jordan sits right next to the Levant coast, but its only sea access is Aqaba on the Red Sea.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which of the following is geographically closest to Great Nicobar ?
Answer (a) & explanation
Sumatra is closest to Great Nicobar (a). Indira Point, the southern tip of Great Nicobar and India's southernmost point, is only about 150 km from the northern tip of Sumatra (Aceh), across the Great Channel. Borneo (b) and Java (c) are much farther east and south. Sri Lanka (d) is over 1,300 km away. Indira Point is also very close to the Malacca Strait, one of the world's busiest shipping lanes.
That nearness is why the Great Nicobar project, costing about ₹72,000 crore, plans an international transshipment port at Galathea Bay, an airport and a township. Notice the opposing concerns: forest loss, harm to leatherback turtles and corals, and the rights of the Shompen, a particularly vulnerable tribe.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following countries of South-West Asia does not open out to the Mediterranean Sea?
Answer (b) & explanation
Jordan does not open onto the Mediterranean (b). It is nearly landlocked, with only about 26 km of coast at Aqaba on the Red Sea. Syria (a), Lebanon (c) and Israel (d) all have Mediterranean coastlines.
Jordan borders Israel, the West Bank, Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and shares the Dead Sea with Israel and the West Bank. The port of Aqaba is its only gateway to the sea, making it vital for trade. Notice how UPSC returned to this idea in 2017; learning which West Asian countries touch which seas makes map questions much easier.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Turkey is located between
Answer (b) & explanation
Turkey has the Black Sea to the north and the Mediterranean, with its arm the Aegean, to the south and west (b). The Bosporus and Dardanelles straits, joined by the Sea of Marmara, link these two seas and split Turkey between Europe and Asia. The Caspian Sea (a) lies further east, beyond Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan. The Gulf of Suez (c) is in Egypt, and the Gulf of Aqaba and Dead Sea (d) are around Jordan, Israel and Egypt.
Notice how control of these straits has made Turkey strategically vital, from the Ottoman era to the Black Sea grain trade during the Ukraine war.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
What is the correct sequence of occurrence of the following cities in South-East Asia as one proceeds from south to north?
- 1. Bangkok
- 2. Hanoi
- 3. Jakarta
- 4. Singapore
Select the correct answer using the code given below.
Answer (c) & explanation
Use latitudes. Jakarta (about 6° S) lies south of the equator. Singapore is at about 1° N, Bangkok about 14° N and Hanoi about 21° N. So from south to north the order is Jakarta–Singapore–Bangkok–Hanoi, that is 3-4-1-2 (c). Options (a) and (d) start with Singapore, ignoring that Jakarta is south of the equator, and (b) puts Hanoi too early.
Hanoi lies in northern Vietnam, close to China, while Ho Chi Minh City is in the south. Notice how a rough latitude for each capital turns map-sequence questions into simple arithmetic.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Which one of the following pairs is correctly matched?
| Geographical Feature | Region
Answer (b) & explanation
Option (b) is correct. The Atlas Mountains run through Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia in north-west Africa; they are young fold mountains formed as Africa pressed against Europe. (a) is wrong: the Abyssinian Plateau is in Ethiopia, East Africa, not Arabia; the Blue Nile rises there from Lake Tana. (c) is wrong: the Guiana Highlands are in northern South America, home to Angel Falls in Venezuela. (d) is wrong: the Okavango Basin is in Botswana, southern Africa, where the river forms a great inland delta; Patagonia is in Argentina and Chile.
Notice the related fact: the Okavango Delta became UNESCO's 1,000th World Heritage Site (2014). Trap: each wrong pair swaps a real feature to the wrong continent.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.
Between India and East Asia, the navigation-time and distance can be greatly reduced by which of the following ?
- 1. Deepening the Malacca straits between Malaysia and Indonesia.
- 2. Opening a new canal across the Kra isthmus between the Gulf of Siam and Andaman Sea.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct ?
Answer (b) & explanation
Statement 2 only is correct (b). A canal across the Kra Isthmus in southern Thailand would link the Andaman Sea with the Gulf of Thailand (Siam), letting ships skip the long loop around the Malay Peninsula through Singapore and save about 1,000 km and two to three days (2). Statement 1 is wrong: deepening the Strait of Malacca would let bigger ships pass but would not shorten the route. So (a), (c) and (d) fail.
Notice the current plan: Thailand has discussed a 'Land Bridge' of ports, road and rail across Ranong and Chumphon instead of a canal. The Malacca Strait carries about a quarter of world trade, and China calls its dependence on it the 'Malacca dilemma'. Trap: deeper is not shorter.
Answer as per the official UPSC answer key.