The £75,000 question: 'Which European Union capital city is furthest south?'

This morning a correspondent remarked on the correct answer given to this question on last night's BBC Two Eggheads quiz programme. The options were: Lisbon, Valletta or Nicosia.

Their right answer was Nicosia. The correspondent wasn’t convinced, so they looked up our Collins World Atlas (2008 edition) which stated that Valletta was the most southerly capital in Europe. It certainly provoked some discussion here in the office.

Portugal (Lisbon), Malta (Valletta) and Cyprus (Nicosia) are all EU members. However, we consider Cyprus geographically to be part of Asia due to its proximity to mainland Asia; it is closer to Turkey than to mainland Europe. The UN (geographical sub-regions) have Cyprus in Western Asia and the CIA (World Factbook) has it in the Middle East. Therefore, the correct answer depends on the specific question!

Question on Eggheads BBC iPlayer (fast forward to 24 minutes).

See the Collins World Atlas range at Amazon.

Elizabeth Donald, Information Editor, Collins Geo Newsroom.