Rivers in Africa Ranked by Drainage basin area

Name: Rivers in Africa Ranked by Drainage basin area
Creator: Wikidata
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Rivers recorded in Wikidata, ranked by Drainage basin. Figures for long rivers vary between sources, depending on where the source and mouth are measured. Only items Wikidata places in Africa (directly or through their country) are included. Source: Wikidata (CC0 1.0 (public domain)).

Summary

Congo River ranks #1 with 401.45 million km². That is 118 times Nile in second place (3.4 million km²). The top five are Congo River, Nile, Niger River, White Nile and Orange River. The median across all 50 is 204,919 km²; Bandama River is last at 98,500 km².

#1: Congo River · 401.45 million km²
Median: 204,919 km²
Coverage: 50 rivers in Africa
Data year: As recorded in Wikidata
Last updated: 2026-11-14

Top 10: Drainage basin (km²). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. Congo River 401.45 million; 2. Nile 3.4 million; 3. Niger River 2.12 million; 4. White Nile 1.06 million; 5. Orange River 973,000; 6. Kasai River 880,200; 7. Okavango River 800,000; 8. Ubangi River 772,800; 9. Chari River 650,000; 10. Bahr el Ghazal River 520,000.

Full ranking

Rivers in Africa Ranked by Drainage basin area
Rank	River	Location	Drainage basin (km²)
1	Congo River	Angola, Zambia	401,450,000
2	Nile	Egypt, Arab Rep., Ethiopia	3,400,000
3	Niger River	Mali, Benin	2,117,700
4	White Nile	Uganda, Rwanda	1,059,000
5	Orange River	South Africa, Lesotho	973,000
6	Kasai River	Angola, Congo, Dem. Rep.	880,200
7	Okavango River	Angola, Botswana	800,000
8	Ubangi River	Central African Republic, Congo, Rep.	772,800
9	Chari River	Chad, Central African Republic	650,000
10	Bahr el Ghazal River	South Sudan	520,000
11	Jubba River	Ethiopia, Somalia, Fed. Rep.	497,504
12	Benue River	Cameroon, Nigeria	441,000
13	Limpopo River	South Africa, Zimbabwe	440,000
14	Senegal River	Mali, Mauritania	419,575
15	White Volta	Ghana, Burkina Faso	400,000
16	Volta River	Ghana, Burkina Faso	388,000
17	Molopo River	South Africa, Botswana	367,201
18	Blue Nile	Ethiopia, Sudan	325,000
19	Luvua River	Congo, Dem. Rep.	265,300
20	Kwango River	Angola, Congo, Dem. Rep.	263,500
21	Lukuga River	Congo, Dem. Rep.	244,500
22	Sobat River	South Sudan	225,000
23	Jur River	South Sudan	225,000
24	Ogooué River	Congo, Rep., Gabon	222,700
25	Sangha	Central African Republic, Congo, Rep.	213,400
26	Vaal River	South Africa	196,438
27	Shebelle River	Ethiopia, Eritrea	194,000
28	Rufiji River	Tanzania	178,000
29	Tshuapa River	Congo, Dem. Rep.	173,800
30	Ruki	Congo, Dem. Rep.	173,800
31	Ganale Dorya River	Ethiopia	171,050
32	Pibor River	Ethiopia, South Sudan	158,000
33	Sankuru River	Congo, Dem. Rep.	156,000
34	Kafue River	Zambia	154,829
35	Ruvuma River	Tanzania, Mozambique	150,000
36	Shire River	Malawi, Mozambique	149,500
37	Yobe River	Niger, Nigeria	148,000
38	Luangwa River	Zambia	145,700
39	Black Volta	Ghana, Burkina Faso	140,000
40	Uele River	Congo, Dem. Rep.	135,400
41	Malagarasi River	Tanzania	130,000
42	Mbomou River	Central African Republic, South Sudan	120,000
43	Aruwimi River	Congo, Dem. Rep.	116,100
44	Cuando River	Angola, Zambia	113,393
45	Lomami River	Congo, Dem. Rep.	110,000
46	Cunene River	Angola, Namibia	109,832
47	Save River	Zimbabwe, Mozambique	106,420
48	Bahr Aouk River	Chad, Central African Republic	103,577
49	Bani River	Mali	101,000
50	Bandama River	Côte d'Ivoire	98,500