UPSC Prelims previous year questions on World Political Geography & Borders (World Geography) — real questions with answers and explanations.
2026Multi-statement (Traditional Style)World Political Geography & Borders
Ships from which of the following countries have to cross the Strait of Hormuz to reach out to the Indian Ocean?
1. Bahrain
2. Syria
3. Qatar
4. Egypt
Select the answer using the code given below:
A.1 and 2
B.1 and 3
C.2 and 3
D.3 and 4
Explanation: * Bahrain & Qatar (1 and 3): The Strait of Hormuz serves as the vital geographic bottleneck connecting the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the broader Indian Ocean. Ships coming from nations inside the Persian Gulf—such as Bahrain and Qatar—must cross this strait to reach open ocean waters. * Syria & Egypt (2 and 4): Syria borders the Mediterranean, and Egypt borders the Mediterranean and Red Seas; neither country is located inside the Persian Gulf, so their ships do not pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
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2025Multi-statement (How Many Style)World Political Geography & Borders
Consider the following countries:
I. United Kingdom
II. Denmark
III. New Zealand
IV. Australia
V. Brazil
How many of the above countries have more than four time zones?
A.All the five
B.Only four
C.Only three
D.Only two
Explanation: * United Kingdom (9 time zones): While the UK mainland uses only one time zone, its overseas territories (such as Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Falkland Islands, etc.) make it span across 9 time zones globally. * Denmark (5 time zones): Mainland Denmark adheres to a single time zone, but the Faroe Islands (1 zone) and Greenland (3 zones), which are part of the Danish realm, push its total to 5 time zones. * New Zealand (3 time zones): Its main islands use one time zone, while the Chatham Islands and Tokelau bring the total to three. * Australia (9 time zones): Mainland Australia is divided into 5 standard time zones; including its 3 external dependencies brings the total to 9 time zones. * Brazil (4 time zones): It spans exactly four standard time zones from west to east (Acre, Amazon, Brasília, and Fernando de Noronha time). * Therefore, three countries (UK, Denmark, and Australia) have more than four time zones.
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2025Multi-statement (Traditional Style)World Political Geography & Borders
Consider the following statements:
I. Anadyr in Siberia and Nome in Alaska are a few kilometers from each other, but when people are waking up and getting set for breakfast in these cities, it would be different days.
II. When it is Monday in Anadyr, it is Tuesday in Nome.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A.I only
B.II only
C.Both I and II
D.Neither I nor II
Explanation: * Statement I is correct: Anadyr (Siberia) and Nome (Alaska) are separated by a 20-hour time difference despite their geographical proximity, meaning breakfast time occurs on different days of the week in each city. * Statement II is incorrect: The International Date Line (IDL) runs between them. Alaska lies to the east of the IDL and Siberia lies to the west. When traveling westward across the IDL, you gain a day, and when traveling eastward, you lose a day. Therefore, when it is Monday in Anadyr, it is Sunday in Nome, not Tuesday.
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2025Pairs/Matching (How Many Style)World Political Geography & Borders
Consider the following pairs:
Region : Country
I. Mallorca : Italy
II. Normandy : Spain
III. Sardinia : France
In how many of the above rows is the given information correctly matched?
A.Only one
B.Only two
C.All the three
D.None of the above
Explanation: * Row I is incorrectly matched: Mallorca (or Majorca) is the largest of the Balearic Islands and is an autonomous island province of Spain, not Italy. * Row II is incorrectly matched: Normandy is a historic northern coastal region bordering the English Channel in France, not Spain. * Row III is incorrectly matched: Sardinia is a large island region located in the western Mediterranean Sea belonging to Italy, not France. * Therefore, none of the rows are correctly matched.
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2024Multi-statement (How Many Style)World Political Geography & Borders
Consider the following countries:
1. Finland
2. Germany
3. Norway
4. Russia
How many of the above countries have a border with the North Sea?
A.Only one
B.Only two
C.Only three
D.All four
Explanation: * The North Sea is an epicenter of western European maritime transit bounded by specific geographical borders. * Items 2 (Germany) and 3 (Norway) directly border the waters of the North Sea along its eastern coastlines. * Items 1 (Finland) and 4 (Russia) are located further east and border the enclosed Baltic Sea or Arctic waters, not the North Sea. * Therefore, exactly two of the listed countries border it.
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2024Direct Conceptual / Factual MCQWorld Political Geography & Borders
The longest border between any two countries in the world is between:
A.Canada and the United States of America
B.Chile and Argentina
C.China and India
D.Russian Federation and Kazakhstan
Explanation: * (a) Canada and the United States of America is correct: The boundary shared between Canada and the United States stretches for a total length of 8,890 km, making it the longest international border between any two countries globally. * For comparison, the Russia-Kazakhstan border is 6,846 km, the Chile-Argentina border is 5,308 km, and the India-China border runs along 3,488 km.
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