Good morning
On 27 September 1980, the United Nations marked the first World Tourism Day. The date was chosen because it fell close to 27 September 1970, when the organisation's founding rules were adopted. The day exists to remind governments how much travel shapes economies and cultures around the world.
Today's issue looks at cities and countries defined by their ground level, from a sinking capital to the lowest high point on Earth.
In today's edition
- Why Jakarta sinks so much faster than Venice
- Baku, the lowest capital city on Earth
- The country whose highest point barely clears sea
- Nigeria's capital that isn't its biggest city
- Guess today's country from its outline
- Fill a 3 by 3 grid of countries
Jakarta · Fact of the day
Jakarta sinks far faster than Venice
When people picture a sinking city, they usually think of Venice, the Italian city built on wooden piles in a lagoon. Venice does sink, but only by about 2 millimetres a year, roughly the thickness of a coin.
Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia and home to about 30 million people in its wider area, sinks far faster. Parts of North Jakarta drop by up to 15 centimetres a year, nearly the height of a soft drink can, and about 75 times Venice's rate.
The cause is not the sea but the ground itself. Millions of residents and businesses pump groundwater from beneath the city, and as the soft soil empties out, it compresses and the surface drops.
↗ Send this fact to a friend40.41° N, 49.87° E · Place of the day
Baku, Azerbaijan
Baku is the capital of Azerbaijan, a country between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. It sits on the shore of the Caspian, the world's largest inland body of water.
Baku lies about 28 metres below sea level, making it the lowest capital city on Earth. The next lowest, Amsterdam in the Netherlands, sits only about 2 metres below sea level, so Baku is roughly 26 metres deeper still.
Baku can sit this low because the Caspian basin has no outlet to the ocean. Water flows in from rivers and evaporates rather than draining away, so the sea level here settles far below that of the open oceans.
Play today's Worldle↻ Also on the map
Nigeria's capital is not its biggest city On 12 December 1991, Nigeria moved its capital from Lagos to Abuja, a planned city built near the country's centre. Lagos remains far larger and busier, but Abuja has held the seat of government since that date.
The Philippines has a flag rule for wartime Since 1998, Philippine law has set out how the national flag should be flown depending on peace or war. In peacetime the blue stripe sits on top; in wartime the flag is flown upside down, with red on top instead.
Between issues
Fancy a change of pace? In GeoGrid, you fill a 3 by 3 grid, matching each row and column to a country that fits both categories. It rewards a good memory for maps and a bit of lateral thinking.
Play today's GeoGridLocate the country
Today's mystery shape · 27 September 2026
Can you name the country behind today's silhouette? Take your best guess based on its outline, then check back tomorrow, when we reveal the answer.
Guess it on Worldle →Yesterday, revealed
Yesterday, 26 September 2026
It was Croatia, Yesterday's outline was trickier than it looked for plenty of readers. Whether you got it straight away or needed every clue, well done for giving it a go, and there's a fresh one waiting for you today.
0.59° S, 73.05° E · By the numbers
The highest point in each country
The Maldives, a nation of more than 1,000 islands in the Indian Ocean, has the lowest high point of any country on Earth. Its tallest spot is only about 2.4 metres above the sea, lower than a single storey of a house. Even Denmark and the Netherlands, both known for flat land, rise far higher than that. The world's highest point, at the top of Mount Everest, stands thousands of metres above them all. This matters because a country as low as the Maldives has almost no higher ground to retreat to if the sea around it keeps rising.
FREE · DAILY · GEOGRAPHY
Put the world in your inbox.
One surprising, entertaining geography brief each day. No spam; just a better sense of place.
That's the world
See you tomorrow. The Teuteuf team
Sources: NASA Earth Observatory: 'As Jakarta Grows, So Do the Water Issues' · Wikipedia: Baku · Wikipedia: Abuja · Republic Act No. 8491, Sec. 10 (LawPhil primary text) · Guinness World Records: Flattest country