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Field Listing :: Waterways

This entry gives the total length of navigable rivers, canals, and other inland bodies of water.
Country Comparison to the World

Country	Waterways(km)


Afghanistan	1,200 km; (chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT) (2008)


Albania	41 km (on the Bojana River) (2010)


Angola	1,300 km (2010)


Argentina	11,000 km (2007)


Australia	2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2006)


Austria	358 km (2011)


Bangladesh	8,370 km (includes up to 3,060 km of main cargo routes; the network is reduced to 5,200 km in the dry season) (2007)


Belarus	2,500 km (use limited by its location on the perimeter of the country and by its shallowness) (2003)


Belgium	2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use) (2010)


Belize	825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2010)


Benin	150 km (seasonal navigation on River Niger along northern border) (2010)


Bolivia	10,000 km (commercially navigable almost exclusively in the northern and eastern parts of the country) (2010)


Bosnia and Herzegovina	(Sava River on northern border; open to shipping but use limited) (2009)


Brazil	50,000 km (most in areas remote from industry and population) (2010)


Brunei	209 km (navigable by craft drawing less than 1.2 m; the Belait, Brunei, and Tutong rivers are major transport links) (2011)


Bulgaria	470 km (2009)


Burma	12,800 km (2008)


Burundi	(mainly on Lake Tanganyika between Bujumbura, Burundi's principal port, and lake ports in Tanzania, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo) (2010)


Cambodia	2,400 km (mainly on Mekong River) (2010)


Cameroon	(major rivers in the south, such as the Wouri and the Sanaga, are largely non-navigable; in the north, the Benue, which connects through Nigeria to the Niger River, is navigable in the rainy season only to the port of Garoua) (2010)


Canada	636 km (Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, shared with United States) (2008)


Central African Republic	2,800 km (the primary navigable river is the Ubangi, which joins the River Congo; it was the traditional route for the export of products because it connected with the Congo-Ocean railway at Brazzaville; because of the warfare on both sides of the River Congo from 1997, however, routes through Cameroon became preferred by importers and exporters) (2010)


Chad	(Chari and Legone rivers are navigable only in wet season) (2010)


China	110,000 km (navigable waterways) (2010)


Colombia	18,000 km (2010)


Congo, Democratic Republic of the	15,000 km (including the Congo, its tributaries, and unconnected lakes) (2009)


Congo, Republic of the	1,120 km (commercially navigable on Congo and Oubanqui rivers above Brazzaville; there are many ferries across the river to Kinshasa; the Congo south of Brazzaville-Kinshasa to the coast is not navigable because of rapids, thereby necessitating a rail connection to Pointe Noire; other rivers are used for local traffic only) (2010)


Costa Rica	730 km (seasonally navigable by small craft) (2010)


Cote d'Ivoire	980 km (navigable rivers, canals, and numerous coastal lagoons) (2009)


Croatia	785 km (2009)


Cuba	240 km (almost all navigable inland waterways are near the mouths of rivers) (2010)


Czech Republic	664 km (principally on Elbe, Vltava, Oder, and other navigable rivers, lakes, and canals) (2010)


Denmark	400 km (2010)


Ecuador	1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2010)


Egypt	3,500 km (includes the Nile River, Lake Nasser, Alexandria-Cairo Waterway, and numerous smaller canals in Nile Delta; the Suez Canal (193.5 km including approaches) is navigable by oceangoing vessels drawing up to 17.68 m) (2010)


El Salvador	(Rio Lempa is partially navigable for small craft) (2010)


Estonia	335 km (320 km are navigable year round) (2010)


European Union	44,103 km (2010)


Fiji	203 km (122 km are navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges) (2010)


Finland	7,842 km (includes Saimaa Canal system of 3,577 km; southern part leased from Russia; water transport is used frequently in the summer and is widely replaced with sledges on the ice in winter; there are 187,888 lakes in Finland that cover 31,500 km) (2010)


France	metropolitan France: 8,501 km (1,621 km accessible to craft of 3,000 metric tons) (2010)


Gabon	1,600 km (310 km on Ogooue River) (2010)


Gambia, The	390 km (on River Gambia; small ocean-going vessels can reach 190 km) (2010)


Germany	7,467 km (Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea) (2010)


Ghana	1,293 km (168 km for launches and lighters on Volta, Ankobra, and Tano rivers; 1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways on Lake Volta) (2011)


Greece	6 km (the 6 km long Corinth Canal crosses the Isthmus of Corinth; it shortens a sea voyage by 325 km) (2010)


Guatemala	990 km (260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during high-water season) (2010)


Guinea	1,300 km (navigable by shallow-draft native craft in the northern part of the Niger system) (2009)


Guinea-Bissau	(rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior) (2009)


Guyana	330 km (the Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km respectively) (2010)


Honduras	465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2010)


Hungary	1,622 km (most on Danube River) (2010)


India	14,500 km (5,200 km on major rivers and 485 km on canals suitable for mechanized vessels) (2008)


Indonesia	21,579 km (2011)


Iran	850 km (on Karun River; some navigation on Lake Urmia) (2009)


Iraq	5,279 km (the Euphrates River (2,815 km), Tigris River (1,899 km), and Third River (565 km) are the principal waterways) (2010)


Ireland	956 km (pleasure craft only) (2010)


Italy	2,400 km (used for commercial traffic; of limited overall value compared to road and rail) (2009)


Japan	1,770 km (seagoing vessels use inland seas) (2010)


Kazakhstan	4,000 km (on the Ertis (Irtysh) River (80%) and Syr Darya (Syrdariya) River) (2010)


Kenya	(the only significant inland waterway in the country is the part of Lake Victoria within the boundaries of Kenya; Kisumu is the main port and has ferry connections to Uganda and Tanzania) (2010)


Kiribati	5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2007)


Korea, North	2,250 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2010)


Korea, South	1,608 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2010)


Kyrgyzstan	600 km (2010)


Laos	4,600 km (primarily on the Mekong River and its tributaries; 2,900 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m) (2010)


Latvia	300 km (navigable year round) (2010)


Liechtenstein	28 km (2010)


Lithuania	441 km (navigable year round) (2007)


Luxembourg	37 km (on Moselle River) (2010)


Madagascar	600 km (432 km navigable) (2010)


Malawi	700 km (on Lake Nyasa [Lake Malawi] and Shire River) (2010)


Malaysia	7,200 km (Peninsular Malaysia 3,200 km; Sabah 1,500 km; Sarawak 2,500 km) (2011)


Mali	1,800 km (downstream of Koulikoro; low water levels on the River Niger cause problems in dry years; in the months before the rainy season the river is not navigable by commercial vessels) (2010)


Mauritania	(some is navigation possible on the Senegal River) (2010)


Mexico	2,900 km (navigable rivers and coastal canals mostly connected with ports on the country's east coast) (2010)


Moldova	558 km (in public use on Danube, Dniester and Prut rivers) (2008)


Mongolia	580 km (the only waterway in operation is Lake Hovsgol (135 km); Selenge River (270 km) and Orhon River (175 km) are navigable but carry little traffic; lakes and rivers freeze in winter, they are open from May to September) (2010)


Mozambique	460 km (Zambezi River navigable to Tete and along Cahora Bassa Lake) (2010)


Netherlands	6,214 km (navigable for ships of 50 tons) (2010)


Nicaragua	2,220 km (navigable waterways as well as the use of the large Lake Managua and Lake Nicaragua; rivers serve only the sparsely populated eastern part of the country) (2010)


Niger	300 km (the Niger, the only major river, is navigable to Gaya between September and March) (2010)


Nigeria	8,600 km (Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks) (2009)


Norway	1,577 km (2010)


Panama	800 km (includes the 82-km Panama Canal that is being widened) (2010)


Papua New Guinea	11,000 km (2011)


Paraguay	3,100 km (primarily on the Paraguay and Paran� river systems) (2010)


Peru	8,808 km (there are 8,600 km of navigable tributaries on the Amazon system and 208 km on Lago Titicaca) (2010)


Philippines	3,219 km (limited to vessels with draft less than 1.5 m) (2011)


Poland	3,997 km (navigable rivers and canals) (2009)


Portugal	210 km (on Douro River from Porto) (2010)


Romania	1,731 km (includes 1,075 km on the Danube River, 524 km on secondary branches, and 132 km on canals) (2006)


Russia	102,000 km (including 48,000 km with guaranteed depth; the 72,000 km system in European Russia links Baltic Sea, White Sea, Caspian Sea, Sea of Azov, and Black Sea) (2009)


Rwanda	(Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft) (2009)


Senegal	1,000 km (primarily on the Senegal, Saloum, and Casamance rivers) (2010)


Serbia	587 km (primarily on the Danube and Sava rivers) (2009)


Sierra Leone	800 km (600 km navigable year round) (2009)


Slovakia	172 km (on Danube River) (2009)


Slovenia	(there is some transport on the Drava River) (2010)


Spain	1,000 km (2009)


Sri Lanka	160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2008)


Sudan	4,068 km (1,723 km open year round on White and Blue Nile rivers) (2008)


Suriname	1,200 km (most navigable by ships with drafts up to 7 m) (2010)


Sweden	2,052 km (2010)


Switzerland	1,299 km (there are 1,227 km of waterways on lakes and rivers for public transport and another 65 km on the Rhine River between Basel-Rheinfelden and Schaffhausen-Bodensee used for the transport of commercial goods) (2010)


Syria	900 km (navigable but not economically significant) (2010)


Tajikistan	200 km (along Vakhsh River) (2010)


Tanzania	(Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, and Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) are the principal avenues of commerce with neighboring countries; the rivers are not navigable) (2009)


Thailand	4,000 km (3,701 km navigable by boats with drafts up to 0.9 m) (2010)


Togo	50 km (seasonally navigable by small craft on the Mono River depending on rainfall) (2009)


Turkey	1,200 km (2008)


Turkmenistan	1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal are important inland waterways) (2008)


Uganda	(there are no long navigable stretches of river in Uganda; parts of the Albert Nile that flow out of Lake Albert in the northwestern part of the country are navigable; several lakes including Lake Victoria and Lake Kyoga have substantial traffic; Lake Albert is navigable along a 200-km stretch from its northern tip to its southern shores) (2009)


Ukraine	2,150 km (most on Dnieper River) (2009)


United Kingdom	3,200 km (620 km used for commerce) (2009)


United States	41,009 km (19,312 km used for commerce; Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, is shared with Canada) (2008)


Uruguay	1,600 km (2010)


Uzbekistan	1,100 km (2009)


Venezuela	7,100 km (the Orinoco River (400 km) and Lake de Maracaibo are navigable by oceangoing vessels) (2010)


Vietnam	17,702 km (5,000 km are navigable by vessels up to 1.8 m draft) (2011)

World

671,886 km (2004)
top ten longest rivers: Nile (Africa) 6,693 km; Amazon (South America) 6,436 km; Mississippi-Missouri (North America) 6,238 km; Yenisey-Angara (Asia) 5,981 km; Ob-Irtysh (Asia) 5,569 km; Yangtze (Asia) 5,525 km; Yellow (Asia) 4,671 km; Amur (Asia) 4,352 km; Lena (Asia) 4,345 km; Congo (Africa) 4,344 km
note: if measured by volume, the Amazon is the largest river in the world


Zambia	2,250 km (includes Lake Tanganyika and the Zambezi and Luapula rivers) (2010)


Zimbabwe	(some navigation possible on Lake Kariba) (2009)

The online Factbook is updated weekly. ISSN 1553-8133
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