Lakes in Africa Ranked by Volume
Lakes recorded in Wikidata, ranked by Volume. 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 Tanganyika ranks #1 with 18,900 km³. That is 2.3 times Lake Malawi in second place (8,400 km³). The top five are Lake Tanganyika, Lake Malawi, Lake Victoria, Lake Kivu and Lake Albert. The median across all 30 is 1.39 km³; Lake Rwakibali is last at 0.014 km³.
- #1
- Lake Tanganyika · 18,900 km³
- Median
- 1.39 km³
- Coverage
- 30 lakes in Africa
- Data year
- As recorded in Wikidata
- Last updated
- 2026-11-14
Full ranking
| Rank | Lake | Location | Volume (km³) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Tanganyika | Tanzania, Zambia | 18,900 |
| 2 | Lake Malawi | Tanzania, Malawi | 8,400 |
| 3 | Lake Victoria | Kenya, Tanzania | 2,750 |
| 4 | Lake Kivu | Congo, Dem. Rep., Rwanda | 500 |
| 5 | Lake Albert | Congo, Dem. Rep., Uganda | 132 |
| 6 | Lake Edward | Congo, Dem. Rep., Uganda | 39.5 |
| 7 | Lake Mweru | Zambia, Congo, Dem. Rep. | 38 |
| 8 | Lake Tana | Ethiopia | 28 |
| 9 | Lake Abaya | Ethiopia | 8.2 |
| 10 | Lake Mai-Ndombe | Congo, Dem. Rep. | 7.1 |
| 11 | Lake Chad | Chad, Cameroon | 6.3 |
| 12 | Lake Naivasha | Kenya | 4.6 |
| 13 | Lake Nzilo | Congo, Dem. Rep. | 2.3 |
| 14 | Lake Kompienga | Burkina Faso | 2.05 |
| 15 | Lake Chilwa | Malawi | 1.8 |
| 16 | Lake Sibhayi | South Africa | 0.981 |
| 17 | Lake Moeris | Egypt, Arab Rep. | 0.979 |
| 18 | Lake Upemba | Congo, Dem. Rep. | 0.9 |
| 19 | Lake Alaotra | Madagascar | 0.525 |
| 20 | Lake Muhazi | Rwanda | 0.33 |
| 21 | Lake Mbali | Central African Republic | 0.25 |
| 22 | Lake Bogoria | Kenya | 0.18 |
| 23 | Léré Lake | Chad, Cameroon | 0.16 |
| 24 | Lake Ihotry | Madagascar | 0.156 |
| 25 | Lake Nyos | Cameroon | 0.15 |
| 26 | Lake Timsah | Egypt, Arab Rep. | 0.08 |
| 27 | Lake Magadi | Kenya | 0.05 |
| 28 | Lake Tengrela | Burkina Faso | 0.025 |
| 29 | Lac Bohokou | Burkina Faso | 0.022 |
| 30 | Lake Rwakibali | Rwanda | 0.014 |
About the top 10
#1 Lake Tanganyika
Lake Tanganyika ranks #1 on this list with 18,900 km³.
- Countries
- Tanzania, Zambia, Burundi, Congo, Dem. Rep.
- Length
- 673 km
- Elevation
- 773 m
- Area
- 32,900 km²
- Maximum depth
- 570 m
Also ranks #2 in maximum depth · #7 in volume · #8 in surface area.
#2 Lake Malawi
Lake Malawi ranks #2 on this list with 8,400 km³.
- Countries
- Tanzania, Malawi, Mozambique
- Length
- 570 km
- Elevation
- 474 m
- Area
- 29,600 km²
- Maximum depth
- 704 m
Also ranks #6 in maximum depth · #12 in surface area · #13 in volume.
#3 Lake Victoria
Lake Victoria ranks #3 on this list with 2,750 km³.
- Countries
- Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda
- Length
- 337 km
- Elevation
- 1,133 m
- Area
- 68,100 km²
- Maximum depth
- 83 m
Also ranks #5 in surface area · #16 in volume.
#4 Lake Kivu
Lake Kivu ranks #4 on this list with 500 km³.
- Countries
- Congo, Dem. Rep., Rwanda
- Length
- 89 km
- Elevation
- 1,463 m
- Area
- 2,700 km²
- Maximum depth
- 485 m
Also ranks #16 in maximum depth · #26 in volume · #58 in surface area.
#5 Lake Albert
Lake Albert ranks #5 on this list with 132 km³.
- Countries
- Congo, Dem. Rep., Uganda
- Length
- 160 km
- Elevation
- 619 m
- Area
- 5,270 km²
- Maximum depth
- 58 m
Also ranks #31 in surface area · #39 in volume.
#6 Lake Edward
Lake Edward ranks #6 on this list with 39.5 km³.
- Countries
- Congo, Dem. Rep., Uganda
- Length
- 77 km
- Elevation
- 912 m
- Area
- 2,150 km²
- Maximum depth
- 117 m
Also ranks #59 in volume · #72 in surface area.
#7 Lake Mweru
Lake Mweru ranks #7 on this list with 38 km³.
- Countries
- Zambia, Congo, Dem. Rep.
- Length
- 96 km
- Elevation
- 927 m
- Area
- 4,650 km²
- Maximum depth
- 37 m
Also ranks #37 in surface area · #60 in volume.
#8 Lake Tana
Lake Tana ranks #8 on this list with 28 km³.
- Country
- Ethiopia
- Length
- 84 km
- Elevation
- 1,830 m
- Area
- 2,156 km²
- Maximum depth
- 14 m
Also ranks #51 in surface area · #68 in volume.
#9 Lake Abaya
Lake Abaya ranks #9 on this list with 8.2 km³.
- Country
- Ethiopia
- Length
- 60 km
- Elevation
- 1,400 m
- Area
- 1,250 km²
- Maximum depth
- 13 m
#10 Lake Mai-Ndombe
Lake Mai-Ndombe ranks #10 on this list with 7.1 km³.
- Country
- Congo, Dem. Rep.
- Length
- 130 km
- Elevation
- 320 m
- Area
- 2,300 km²
- Maximum depth
- 10 m
Also ranks #68 in surface area.
Profile facts: Wikidata (CC0).
Source and method
Lakes recorded in Wikidata, ranked by Volume. 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.