| 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) (2011) |
| Albania | 41 km (on the Bojana River) (2011) |
| Angola | 1,300 km (2011) |
| Argentina | 11,000 km (2012) |
| Australia | 2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2011) |
| 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) (2011) |
| Belarus | 2,500 km (use limited by its location on the perimeter of the country and by its shallowness) (2011) |
| Belgium | 2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use) (2012) |
| Belize | 825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2011) |
| Benin | 150 km (seasonal navigation on River Niger along northern border) (2011) |
| Bolivia | 10,000 km (commercially navigable almost exclusively in the northern and eastern parts of the country) (2012) |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | (Sava River on northern border; open to shipping but use limited) (2011) |
| Brazil | 50,000 km (most in areas remote from industry and population) (2012) |
| Brunei | 209 km (navigable by craft drawing less than 1.2 m; the Belait, Brunei, and Tutong rivers are major transport links) (2012) |
| Bulgaria | 470 km (2009) |
| Burma | 12,800 km (2011) |
| Burundi | (mainly on Lake Tanganyika between Bujumbura, Burundi's principal port, and lake ports in Tanzania, Zambia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo) (2011) |
| Cambodia | 3,700 km (mainly on Mekong River) (2012) |
| 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) (2011) |
| 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) (2011) |
| Chad | (Chari and Legone rivers are navigable only in wet season) (2012) |
| China | 110,000 km (navigable waterways) (2011) |
| Colombia | 24,725 km (18,300 km navigable; the most important waterway, the River Magdalena, of which 1,488 km is navigable, is dredged regularly to ensure the safe passage of cargo vessels and container barges) (2012) |
| Congo, Democratic Republic of the | 15,000 km (including the Congo, its tributaries, and unconnected lakes) (2011) |
| 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) (2011) |
| Costa Rica | 730 km (seasonally navigable by small craft) (2011) |
| Cote d'Ivoire | 980 km (navigable rivers, canals, and numerous coastal lagoons) (2011) |
| Croatia | 785 km (2009) |
| Cuba | 240 km (almost all navigable inland waterways are near the mouths of rivers) (2011) |
| 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) (2012) |
| 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) (2011) |
| El Salvador | (Rio Lempa is partially navigable for small craft) (2011) |
| Estonia | 335 km (320 km are navigable year round) (2011) |
| European Union | 44,103 km (2010) |
| Fiji | 203 km (122 km are navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges) (2012) |
| 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) (2011) |
| 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) (2012) |
| 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) (2012) |
| Guatemala | 990 km (260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during high-water season) (2012) |
| Guinea | 1,300 km (navigable by shallow-draft native craft in the northern part of the Niger system) (2011) |
| Guinea-Bissau | (rivers are navigable for some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior) (2012) |
| Guyana | 330 km (the Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km respectively) (2012) |
| Honduras | 465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2012) |
| Hungary | 1,622 km (most on Danube River) (2011) |
| India | 14,500 km (5,200 km on major rivers and 485 km on canals suitable for mechanized vessels) (2012) |
| Indonesia | 21,579 km (2011) |
| Iran | 850 km (on Karun River; some navigation on Lake Urmia) (2012) |
| Iraq | 5,279 km (the Euphrates River (2,815 km), Tigris River (1,899 km), and Third River (565 km) are the principal waterways) (2012) |
| Ireland | 956 km (pleasure craft only) (2010) |
| Italy | 2,400 km (used for commercial traffic; of limited overall value compared to road and rail) (2012) |
| 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 | none specifically 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 (2011) |
| Kiribati | 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2012) |
| Korea, North | 2,250 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2011) |
| Korea, South | 1,600 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2011) |
| 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) (2012) |
| 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) (2011) |
| 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) (2011) |
| Mauritania | (some is navigation possible on the Senegal River) (2011) |
| Mexico | 2,900 km (navigable rivers and coastal canals mostly connected with ports on the country's east coast) (2012) |
| Moldova | 558 km (in public use on Danube, Dniester and Prut rivers) (2011) |
| 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) (2009) |
| 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) (2011) |
| Niger | 300 km (the Niger, the only major river, is navigable to Gaya between September and March) (2012) |
| Nigeria | 8,600 km (Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks) (2011) |
| Norway | 1,577 km (2010) |
| Panama | 800 km (includes the 82-km Panama Canal that is being widened) (2011) |
| Papua New Guinea | 11,000 km (2011) |
| Paraguay | 3,100 km (primarily on the Paraguay and Paraná river systems) (2012) |
| Peru | 8,808 km (there are 8,600 km of navigable tributaries on the Amazon system and 208 km on Lago Titicaca) (2011) |
| 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) (2011) |
| Romania | 1,731 km (includes 1,075 km on the Danube River, 524 km on secondary branches, and 132 km on canals) (2010) |
| 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) (2011) |
| Senegal | 1,000 km (primarily on the Senegal, Saloum, and Casamance rivers) (2012) |
| Serbia | 587 km (primarily on the Danube and Sava rivers) (2009) |
| Sierra Leone | 800 km (600 km navigable year round) (2011) |
| Slovakia | 172 km (on Danube River) (2009) |
| Slovenia | (there is some transport on the Drava River) (2012) |
| South Sudan | see entry for Sudan |
| Spain | 1,000 km (2012) |
| Sri Lanka | 160 km (primarily on rivers in southwest) (2012) |
| Sudan | 4,068 km (1,723 km open year round on White and Blue Nile rivers) (2011) |
| Suriname | 1,200 km (most navigable by ships with drafts up to 7 m) (2011) |
| Sweden | 2,052 km (2010) |
| Switzerland | 1,292 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) (2011) |
| Tajikistan | 200 km (along Vakhsh River) (2011) |
| Tanzania | (Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, and Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) are the principal avenues of commerce with neighboring countries; the rivers are not navigable) (2011) |
| Thailand | 4,000 km (3,701 km navigable by boats with drafts up to 0.9 m) (2011) |
| Togo | 50 km (seasonally navigable by small craft on the Mono River depending on rainfall) (2011) |
| Turkey | 1,200 km (2010) |
| Turkmenistan | 1,300 km (Amu Darya and Kara Kum canal are important inland waterways) (2011) |
| 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) (2011) |
| Ukraine | 1,672 km (most on Dnieper River) (2012) |
| 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) (2012) |
| Uruguay | 1,600 km (2011) |
| Uzbekistan | 1,100 km (2012) |
| Venezuela | 7,100 km (the Orinoco River (400 km) and Lake de Maracaibo are navigable by oceangoing vessels) (2011) |
| Vietnam | 17,702 km (5,000 km are navigable by vessels up to 1.8 m draft) (2011) |
| World |
671,886 km
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: rivers are not necessarily navigable along the entire length; if measured by volume, the Amazon is the largest river in the world top ten largest natural lakes (by surface area): Caspian Sea (Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkmenistan) 372,960 sq km; Lake Superior (Canada, United States) 82,414 sq km; Lake Victoria (Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda) 69,490 sq km; Lake Huron (Canada, United States) 59,596 sq km; Lake Michigan (United States) 57,441 sq km; Lake Tanganyika (Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Zambia) 32,890 sq km; Great Bear Lake (Canada) 31,800 sq km; Lake Baikal (Russia) 31,494 sq km; Lake Nyasa (Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania) 30,044 sq km; Great Slave Lake (Canada) 28,400 sq km note: the areas of the lakes are subject to seasonal variation; only the Caspian Sea is saline, the rest are fresh water |
| Zambia | 2,250 km (includes Lake Tanganyika and the Zambezi and Luapula rivers) (2010) |
| Zimbabwe | (some navigation possible on Lake Kariba) (2011) |