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Rivers Ranked by Drainage basin area

Rivers recorded in Wikidata, ranked by Drainage basin. Figures for long rivers vary between sources, depending on where the source and mouth are measured. Source: Wikidata (CC0 1.0 (public domain)).

Summary

Congo River ranks #1 with 401.45 million km². That is 57 times Amazon River in second place (7.05 million km²). The top five are Congo River, Amazon River, Río de la Plata, Nile and Ob. The median across all 100 is 639,069 km²; Cooper Creek is last at 297,547 km².

#1
Congo River · 401.45 million km²
Median
639,069 km²
Coverage
100 rivers
Data year
As recorded in Wikidata
Last updated
2026-11-14
Top 10: Drainage basinBar chart of the top 10: 1. Congo River 401.45 million; 2. Amazon River 7.05 million; 3. Río de la Plata 4.14 million; 4. Nile 3.4 million; 5. Ob 2.99 million; 6. Mississippi River 2.98 million; 7. Paraná River 2.58 million; 8. Yenisei 2.58 million; 9. Lena River 2.49 million; 10. Solimões 2.2 million.Congo River401.45 millionAmazon River7.05 millionRío de la Plata4.14 millionNile3.4 millionOb2.99 millionMississippi River2.98 millionParaná River2.58 millionYenisei2.58 millionLena River2.49 millionSolimões2.2 million
Top 10: Drainage basin (km²). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. Congo River 401.45 million; 2. Amazon River 7.05 million; 3. Río de la Plata 4.14 million; 4. Nile 3.4 million; 5. Ob 2.99 million; 6. Mississippi River 2.98 million; 7. Paraná River 2.58 million; 8. Yenisei 2.58 million; 9. Lena River 2.49 million; 10. Solimões 2.2 million.

Full ranking

Rivers Ranked by Drainage basin area
RankRiverLocationDrainage basin (km²)
1Congo RiverAngola, Zambia401,450,000
2Amazon RiverBrazil, Peru7,050,000
3Río de la PlataUruguay, Argentina4,144,000
4NileEgypt, Arab Rep., Ethiopia3,400,000
5ObRussian Federation2,990,000
6Mississippi RiverUnited States2,981,000
7Paraná RiverBrazil, Argentina2,582,672
8YeniseiRussian Federation2,580,000
9Lena RiverRussian Federation2,490,000
10SolimõesBrazil2,200,000
11Niger RiverMali, Benin2,117,700
12Meghna RiverBangladesh2,055,000
13Amur RiverChina, Russian Federation1,855,000
14Yangtze RiverChina1,808,500
15Mackenzie RiverCanada1,805,200
16IrtyshChina, Russian Federation1,643,000
17Padma RiverIndia, Bangladesh1,640,000
18Madeira RiverBrazil, Bolivia1,420,000
19Missouri RiverUnited States1,371,010
20VolgaRussian Federation1,360,000
21St. Lawrence RiverCanada, United States1,344,200
22Indus RiverChina, India1,165,000
23Paraguay RiverBrazil, Argentina1,135,624
24Nelson RiverCanada1,093,442
25Murray RiverAustralia1,061,469
26GangesIndia1,060,000
27White NileUganda, Rwanda1,059,000
28AngaraRussian Federation1,039,000
29Orinoco RiverVenezuela, RB, Colombia989,000
30Orange RiverSouth Africa, Lesotho973,000
31Shatt al-ArabIran, Islamic Rep., Iraq884,000
32Kasai RiverAngola, Congo, Dem. Rep.880,200
33Beni RiverBolivia850,000
34Yukon RiverCanada, United States832,000
35DanubeHungary, Austria817,000
36Mekong RiverChina, Cambodia810,000
37Okavango RiverAngola, Botswana800,000
38Ubangi RiverCentral African Republic, Congo, Rep.772,800
39Tocantins RiverBrazil770,000
40Yellow RiverChina752,000
41AldanRussian Federation729,000
42Rio NegroBrazil, Venezuela, RB720,114
43Darling RiverAustralia710,000
44EuphratesTürkiye, Iraq673,000
45Columbia RiverCanada, United States668,217
46Niagara RiverCanada, United States665,000
47Brahmaputra RiverChina, India651,334
48Chari RiverChad, Central African Republic650,000
49KolymaRussian Federation643,000
50São Francisco RiverBrazil641,000
51Colorado RiverUnited States, Mexico637,137
52Slave RiverCanada616,400
53Mamoré RiverBrazil, Bolivia595,000
54Tarim RiverChina557,000
55Jamuna RiverBangladesh552,000
56Ohio RiverUnited States528,100
57Songhua RiverChina524,000
58Bahr el Ghazal RiverSouth Sudan520,000
59Xingu RiverBrazil513,000
60KamaRussian Federation507,000
61Arkansas RiverUnited States505,000
62DnieperRussian Federation, Belarus503,500
63Helmand RiverIran, Islamic Rep., Afghanistan500,000
64Jubba RiverEthiopia, Somalia, Fed. Rep.497,504
65Tapajós RiverBrazil487,000
66Nizhnyaya TunguskaRussian Federation473,000
67Rio GrandeUnited States, Mexico471,900
68VilyuyRussian Federation454,000
69SelengaRussian Federation, Mongolia447,000
70Benue RiverCameroon, Nigeria441,000
71Limpopo RiverSouth Africa, Zimbabwe440,000
72Pearl RiverChina437,000
73Xi RiverChina437,000
74TobolRussian Federation, Kazakhstan426,000
75DonRussian Federation422,000
76Senegal RiverMali, Mauritania419,575
77Irrawaddy RiverMyanmar411,000
78White VoltaGhana, Burkina Faso400,000
79SutlejChina, India395,000
80Volta RiverGhana, Burkina Faso388,000
81TigrisTürkiye, Iraq375,000
82Ucayali RiverPeru375,000
83Araguaia RiverBrazil370,000
84Molopo RiverSouth Africa, Botswana367,201
85Uruguay RiverUruguay, Brazil365,000
86Purus RiverBrazil365,000
87KhatangaRussian Federation364,000
88IndigirkaRussian Federation360,000
89Northern DvinaRussian Federation357,000
90YamunaIndia351,000
91Marañón RiverPeru350,000
92Parnaíba RiverBrazil344,112
93Saskatchewan RiverCanada335,900
94Salween RiverChina, Myanmar325,000
95Blue NileEthiopia, Sudan325,000
96PechoraRussian Federation322,000
97Godavari RiverIndia313,000
98Amu DaryaUzbekistan, Tajikistan309,000
99Peace RiverCanada302,500
100Cooper CreekAustralia297,547

About the top 10

Profile facts: Wikidata (CC0).

Related rankings

Source and method

Rivers recorded in Wikidata, ranked by Drainage basin. Figures for long rivers vary between sources, depending on where the source and mouth are measured.

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.