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Waterways (Country profile category: Transportation) |
Afghanistan:
1,200 km; chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to about 500 DWT
Albania:
43 km plus Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990)
Angola:
1,295 km navigable
Argentina:
10,950 km navigable
Armenia:
NA km
Australia:
8,368 km; mainly by small, shallow-draft craft
Austria:
358 km (1999)
Bangladesh:
5,150-8,046 km navigable waterways (includes 2,575-3,058 km main cargo routes)
Belarus:
NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems
Belgium:
2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use)
Belize:
825 km river network used by shallow-draft craft; seasonally navigable
Benin:
navigable along small sections, important only locally
Bolivia:
10,000 km of commercially navigable waterways
Bosnia and Herzegovina:
NA km; large sections of the Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris
Brazil:
50,000 km navigable
Brunei:
209 km; navigable by craft drawing less than 1.2 m
Bulgaria:
470 km (1987)
Burma:
12,800 km; 3,200 km navigable by large commercial vessels
Burundi:
Lake Tanganyika
Cambodia:
3,700 km navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6 m or less; 282 km navigable to craft drawing 1.8 m or less
Cameroon:
2,090 km; of decreasing importance
Canada:
3,000 km, including Saint Lawrence Seaway
Central African Republic:
800 km; traditional trade carried on by means of shallow-draft dugouts; Oubangui is the most important river
Chad:
2,000 km navigable
Chile:
725 km
China:
110,000 km navigable (1999)
Colombia:
18,140 km, navigable by river boats (April 1996)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the:
15,000 km including the Congo, its tributaries, and unconnected lakes
Congo, Republic of the:
the Congo and Ubangi (Oubangui) rivers provide 1,120 km of commercially navigable water transport; other rivers are used for local traffic only
Costa Rica:
about 730 km, seasonally navigable
Cote d'Ivoire:
980 km navigable rivers, canals, and numerous coastal lagoons
Croatia:
785 km perennially navigable; large sections of Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris
Cuba:
240 km
Czech Republic:
677 km; the Elbe (Labe) is the principal river
Denmark:
417 km
Ecuador:
1,500 km
Egypt:
3,500 km (including the Nile, Lake Nasser, Alexandria-Cairo Waterway, and numerous smaller canals in the delta); Suez Canal, 193.5 km (including approaches), used by oceangoing vessels drawing up to 16.1 m of water
El Salvador:
Rio Lempa partially navigable
Estonia:
320 km perennially navigable
Fiji:
203 km; 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges
Finland:
6,675 km total (including Saimaa Canal); 3,700 km suitable for steamers
France:
14,932 km; 6,969 km heavily traveled
French Guiana:
460 km, navigable by small oceangoing vessels and river and coastal steamers; 3,300 km navigable by native craft
Gabon:
1,600 km perennially navigable
Gambia, The:
400 km
Germany:
7,500 km (1999); major rivers include the Rhine and Elbe; Kiel Canal is an important connection between the Baltic Sea and North Sea
Ghana:
Volta, Ankobra, and Tano Rivers provide 168 km of perennial navigation for launches and lighters; Lake Volta provides 1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways
Greece:
80 km; system consists of three coastal canals; including the Corinth Canal (6 km) which crosses the Isthmus of Corinth connecting the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf and shortens the sea voyage from the Adriatic to Peiraiefs (Piraeus) by 325 km; and three unconnected rivers
Guatemala:
260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during high-water season
Guinea:
1,295 km navigable by shallow-draft native craft
Guinea-Bissau:
several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping
Guyana:
5,900 km total of navigable waterways; Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo Rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km, respectively
Haiti:
NEGL; less than 100 km navigable
Honduras:
465 km navigable by small craft
Hungary:
1,373 km permanently navigable (1997)
India:
16,180 km; 3,631 km navigable by large vessels
Indonesia:
21,579 km total; Sumatra 5,471 km, Java and Madura 820 km, Kalimantan 10,460 km, Sulawesi (Celebes) 241 km, Irian Jaya 4,587 km
Iran:
904 km; the Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3 m and is in use
Iraq:
1,015 km; Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3 m and is in use; Tigris and Euphrates Rivers have navigable sections for shallow-draft watercraft; Shatt al Basrah canal was navigable by shallow-draft craft before closing in 1991 because of the Gulf war
Ireland:
700 km (limited for commercial traffic) (1998)
Italy:
2,400 km for various types of commercial traffic, although of limited overall value
Japan:
about 1,770 km; seagoing craft ply all coastal inland seas
Kazakhstan:
3,900 km on the Syrdariya (Syr Darya) and Ertis (Irtysh)
Kenya:
part of the Lake Victoria system is within the boundaries of Kenya
Kiribati:
small network of canals, totaling 5 km, in Line Islands
Korea, North:
2,253 km; mostly navigable by small craft only
Korea, South:
1,609 km; use restricted to small native craft
Kyrgyzstan:
600 km (1990)
Laos:
about 4,587 km, primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional km are sectionally navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m
Latvia:
300 km perennially navigable
Libya:
none
Lithuania:
600 km perennially navigable
Luxembourg:
37 km; Moselle
Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of:
none, lake transport only
Madagascar:
of local importance only; isolated streams and small portions of Lakandranon' Ampangalana (Canal des Pangalanes)
Malawi:
Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi); Shire River, 144 km
Malaysia:
7,296 km (Peninsular Malaysia 3,209 km, Sabah 1,569 km, Sarawak 2,518 km)
Mali:
1,815 km navigable
Mauritania:
mostly ferry traffic on the Senegal River
Mexico:
2,900 km navigable rivers and coastal canals
Moldova:
424 km (1994)
Mongolia:
400 km of principal routes (1999)
Mozambique:
about 3,750 km of navigable routes
Netherlands:
5,046 km, of which 47% is usable by craft of 1,000 metric ton capacity or larger
New Zealand:
1,609 km; of little importance to transportation
Nicaragua:
2,220 km, including 2 large lakes
Niger:
the Niger is navigable 300 km from Niamey to Gaya on the Benin frontier from mid-December through March
Nigeria:
8,575 km consisting of the Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks
Northern Mariana Islands:
none
Norway:
1,577 km along west coast; navigable by 2.4 m draft vessels maximum
Panama:
800 km navigable by shallow draft vessels; 82 km Panama Canal
Papua New Guinea:
10,940 km
Paraguay:
3,100 km
Peru:
8,600 km of navigable tributaries of Amazon system and 208 km of Lago Titicaca
Philippines:
3,219 km; limited to shallow-draft (less than 1.5 m) vessels
Poland:
3,812 km navigable rivers and canals (1996)
Portugal:
820 km navigable; relatively unimportant to national economy, used by shallow-draft craft limited to 300 metric-ton or less cargo capacity
Romania:
1,724 km (1984)
Russia:
total navigable routes in general use 101,000 km; routes with navigation guides serving the Russian River Fleet 95,900 km; routes with night navigational aids 60,400 km; man-made navigable routes 16,900 km (January 1994 est.)
Rwanda:
Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft
Senegal:
897 km total; 785 km on the Senegal river, and 112 km on the Saloum river
Serbia and Montenegro:
587 km; Danube River runs through Serbia connecting Europe with the Black Sea; in early 2000 the river was obstructed at Novi Sad due to a pontoon bridge; a canal system in north Serbia is available to by-pass damage, however, lock size is limited (1999)
Sierra Leone:
800 km; 600 km navigable year round
Slovakia:
172 km on the Danube
Slovenia:
NA
Spain:
1,045 km, but of minor economic importance
Sri Lanka:
430 km; navigable by shallow-draft craft
Sudan:
5,310 km navigable
Suriname:
1,200 km; most important means of transport; oceangoing vessels with drafts ranging up to 7 m can navigate many of the principal waterways
Sweden:
2,052 km navigable for small steamers and barges
Switzerland:
65 km; Rhine (Basel to Rheinfelden, Schaffhausen to Bodensee); 12 navigable lakes
Syria:
870 km; minimal economic importance
Tanzania:
Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, Lake Nyasa
Thailand:
3,999 km principal waterways; 3,701 km with navigable depths of 0.9 m or more throughout the year; numerous minor waterways navigable by shallow-draft native craft
Togo:
50 km Mono river
Turkey:
about 1,200 km
Turkmenistan:
the Amu Darya is an important inland waterway
Uganda:
Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, Lake George, Lake Edward, Victoria Nile, Albert Nile
Ukraine:
4,400 km navigable waterways, of which 1,672 km were on the Pryp'yat' and Dnistr (1990)
United Kingdom:
3,200 km
United States:
41,009 km of navigable inland channels, exclusive of the Great Lakes
Uruguay:
1,600 km; used by coastal and shallow-draft river craft
Uzbekistan:
1,100 (1990)
Venezuela:
7,100 km; Rio Orinoco and Lago de Maracaibo accept oceangoing vessels
Vietnam:
17,702 km navigable; more than 5,149 km navigable at all times by vessels up to 1.8 m draft
Wallis and Futuna:
none
Zambia:
2,250 km, including Zambezi and Luapula rivers, Lake Tanganyika
Zimbabwe:
the Mazoe and Zambezi rivers are used for transporting chrome ore from Harare to Mozambique