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Lakes in Africa Ranked by Surface area

Lakes recorded in Wikidata, ranked by Surface area. Figures can vary with water level and season. Only items Wikidata places in Africa (directly or through their country) are included. Source: Wikidata (CC0 1.0 (public domain)).

Summary

Lake Victoria ranks #1 with 68,100 km². That is 2.1 times Lake Tanganyika in second place (32,900 km²). The top five are Lake Victoria, Lake Tanganyika, Lake Ptolemy, Lake Malawi and Lake Bangweulu. The median across all 50 is 591 km²; Lake Abijatta is last at 205 km².

#1
Lake Victoria · 68,100 km²
Median
591 km²
Coverage
50 lakes in Africa
Data year
As recorded in Wikidata
Last updated
2026-11-14
Top 10: Surface areaBar chart of the top 10: 1. Lake Victoria 68,100; 2. Lake Tanganyika 32,900; 3. Lake Ptolemy 30,750; 4. Lake Malawi 29,600; 5. Lake Bangweulu 9,840; 6. Lake Albert 5,270; 7. Lake Mweru 4,650; 8. Lake Tana 3,600; 9. Lake Kivu 2,700; 10. Lake Mai-Ndombe 2,300.Lake Victoria68,100Lake Tanganyika32,900Lake Ptolemy30,750Lake Malawi29,600Lake Bangweulu9,840Lake Albert5,270Lake Mweru4,650Lake Tana3,600Lake Kivu2,700Lake Mai-Ndombe2,300
Top 10: Surface area (km²). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. Lake Victoria 68,100; 2. Lake Tanganyika 32,900; 3. Lake Ptolemy 30,750; 4. Lake Malawi 29,600; 5. Lake Bangweulu 9,840; 6. Lake Albert 5,270; 7. Lake Mweru 4,650; 8. Lake Tana 3,600; 9. Lake Kivu 2,700; 10. Lake Mai-Ndombe 2,300.

Full ranking

Lakes in Africa Ranked by Surface area
RankLakeLocationSurface area (km²)
1Lake VictoriaKenya, Tanzania68,100
2Lake TanganyikaTanzania, Zambia32,900
3Lake PtolemySudan30,750
4Lake MalawiTanzania, Malawi29,600
5Lake BangweuluZambia9,840
6Lake AlbertCongo, Dem. Rep., Uganda5,270
7Lake MweruZambia, Congo, Dem. Rep.4,650
8Lake TanaEthiopia3,600
9Lake KivuCongo, Dem. Rep., Rwanda2,700
10Lake Mai-NdombeCongo, Dem. Rep.2,300
11Lake EdwardCongo, Dem. Rep., Uganda2,150
12Chott Ech CherguiAlgeria2,000
13Lake ChadChad, Cameroon1,540
14Lake Mweru WantipaZambia1,500
15Lake ManzalaEgypt, Arab Rep.1,360
16Lake AbayaEthiopia1,250
17Lake ChilwaMalawi1,200
18Lake Chew BahirKenya, Ethiopia1,200
19Kainji LakeNigeria1,150
20Lake EyasiTanzania1,050
21Lake SulungaTanzania974
22Lake AlaotraMadagascar900
23Fernan Vaz LagoonGabon806
24Chott el HodnaAlgeria760
25Lake MoerisEgypt, Arab Rep.600
26Lagune NdogoGabon582
27Sebkha d'OranAlgeria568.7
28Lake KwaniaUganda540
29Lake UpembaCongo, Dem. Rep.530
30Lake Bisina Wetland SystemUganda522.3
31Lake TumbaCongo, Dem. Rep.500
32Lake TsimanampetsotsaMadagascar456
33Lake ZwayEthiopia440
34Lagune IguélaGabon402
35Pool MaleboCongo, Rep., Congo, Dem. Rep.400
36Lake MalombeMalawi390
37Lake ChamoEthiopia317
38Lake FitriChad300
39Lake St. LuciaSouth Africa300
40Lake KisaleCongo, Dem. Rep.300
41Great Bitter LakeEgypt, Arab Rep.250
42Lake WamalaUganda250
43Lake GeorgeUganda250
44Lake NziloCongo, Dem. Rep.250
45Lagune BanioGabon242
46Lake LanganoEthiopia230
47Lake ManyaraTanzania230
48Lake BisinaUganda210
49Fetzara LakeAlgeria206.8
50Lake AbijattaEthiopia205

About the top 10

#5 Lake Bangweulu

Lake Bangweulu ranks #5 on this list with 9,840 km².

Country
Zambia
Length
75 km
Elevation
1,140 m
Area
9,840 km²
Maximum depth
10 m

Also ranks #21 in surface area.

Full lake profile

#10 Lake Mai-Ndombe

Lake Mai-Ndombe ranks #10 on this list with 2,300 km².

Country
Congo, Dem. Rep.
Length
130 km
Elevation
320 m
Area
2,300 km²
Maximum depth
10 m

Also ranks #68 in surface area.

Full lake profile

Profile facts: Wikidata (CC0).

Related rankings

Source and method

Lakes recorded in Wikidata, ranked by Surface area. Figures can vary with water level and season. Only items Wikidata places in Africa (directly or through their country) are included.

Source: Wikidata. Licence: CC0 1.0 (public domain). Retrieved: 2026-11-14.

Data: Wikidata (CC0)

Values are shown as published. Provider terms: Wikidata. All licences: Sources & licences.