Malabo is the capital city of which of the following countries?

Introduction / Context:
This question belongs to world geography and tests your knowledge of capital cities. Malabo is not as commonly mentioned as capital cities like London or Paris, so it is a good test of whether you have studied lesser known countries and their capitals. Such questions are common in general knowledge and competitive examinations where world geography is part of the syllabus.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• The capital city under consideration is Malabo.
• The options are Rwanda, Zambia, Equatorial Guinea and Panama.
• We assume standard internationally recognised capital city designations.

Concept / Approach:
The approach is to match the capital Malabo with its country. Malabo is the capital of Equatorial Guinea, a small country on the west coast of Central Africa. The other countries listed have different capitals: Rwanda (Kigali), Zambia (Lusaka) and Panama (Panama City). Knowing at least one of these capital country pairs is usually enough to identify that Equatorial Guinea is the correct match for Malabo.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Recall that Equatorial Guinea has Malabo as its capital city, located on the island of Bioko.Step 2: Rwanda's capital is Kigali, not Malabo.Step 3: Zambia's capital is Lusaka, which is a landlocked southern African country.Step 4: Panama's capital is Panama City, a well known financial and shipping centre in Central America.Step 5: Since Malabo corresponds only to Equatorial Guinea, option C is correct.

Verification / Alternative check:
Standard atlases, geography textbooks and country fact sheets list Malabo as the capital of Equatorial Guinea. You can also recall that Equatorial Guinea is one of the very few African countries where Spanish is an official language, and Malabo is its administrative centre. The other countries in the list are associated with very different capitals, which supports our conclusion.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Rwanda: Its capital is Kigali, known for its rapid development and central role in the country's rebuilding after the 1994 genocide.

Zambia: Its capital is Lusaka, a key commercial and governmental hub in southern Africa.

Panama: Its capital is Panama City, famous for the Panama Canal and international trade.

Since none of these capitals is Malabo, these country options are incorrect.

Common Pitfalls:
Students may confuse less familiar African capitals or mix up similar sounding names. Another tendency is to guess based on incomplete knowledge, for example, associating Malabo with any random African country. Systematic study of capitals, especially of smaller countries, helps avoid such guesswork. It is useful to revise capital city lists regularly and group them by region in your memory.

Final Answer:
Malabo is the capital city of Equatorial Guinea.