Human life and civilizations have developed on the banks of rivers. All the inhabited continents in the world have their share of rivers. We have already published about major rivers of India. Following table enlists world’s most important rivers. Incidentally these are also the longest rivers in the world.
| # | River Names | Length (km) | Outflow | Countries Sharing Drainage Basin |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | The Nile – White-Nile – Kagera – Nyabarongo – Mwogo – Rukarara (Learn about the longest river in the world) |
7,088 | Mediterranean | Ethiopia, Eritrea, Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, Egypt, Democratic Republic of the Congo, South Sudan |
| 2. | Amazon – Ucayali – Tambo – Ene – Mantaro | 6,992 | Atlantic Ocean | Brazil, Peru, Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana |
| 3. | Yangtze (Chang Jiang; Long River) | 6,418 | East China Sea | China |
| 4. | Mississippi – Missouri – Jefferson – Beaverhead – Red Rock – Hell Roaring (Learn: Major rivers of the United States) |
6,275 | Gulf of Mexico | United States (98.5%), Canada (1.5%) |
| 5. | Yenisei – Angara – Selenge – Ider | 5,539 | Kara Sea | Russia (97%), Mongolia (2.9%) |
| 6. | Yellow River(Huang He) | 5,464 | Bohai Sea | China |
| 7. | Ob – Irtysh | 5,410 | Gulf of Ob | Russia, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia |
| 8. | Río de la Plata – Paraná – Rio Grande | 4,880 | Río de la Plata | Brazil (46.7%), Argentina (27.7%), Paraguay (13.5%), Bolivia (8.3%), Uruguay (3.8%) |
| 9. | Congo – Chambeshi(Zaïre) | 4,700 | Atlantic Ocean | Democratic Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Angola, Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Cameroon, Zambia, Burundi, Rwanda |
| 10. | Amur – Argun – Kherlen(Heilong Jiang) | 4,444 | Sea of Okhotsk | Russia, China, Mongolia |
| 11. | Lena | 4,400 | Laptev Sea | Russia |
| 12. | Mekong(Lancang Jiang) | 4,350 | South China Sea | China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam |
| 13. | Mackenzie – Slave – Peace – Finlay | 4,241 | Beaufort Sea | Canada |
| 14. | Niger | 4,200 | Gulf of Guinea | Nigeria (26.6%), Mali (25.6%), Niger (23.6%), Algeria (7.6%), Guinea (4.5%), Cameroon (4.2%), Burkina Faso (3.9%), Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, Chad |
| 15. | Brahmaputra – Tsangpo (Also see: Cross-country rivers in India) |
3,848 | Ganges | India (58.0%), China (19.7%), Nepal (9.0%), Bangladesh (6.6%), Disputed India/China (4.2%), Bhutan (2.4%) |
| 16. | Murray – Darling – Culgoa – Balonne – Condamine | 3,672 | Southern Ocean | Australia |
| 17. | Tocantins – Araguaia | 3,650 | Atlantic Ocean, Amazon | Brazil |
| 18. | Volga | 3,645 | Caspian Sea | Russia |
| 19. | Indus – Sênggê Zangbo | 3,610 | Arabian Sea | Pakistan (93%), India and China |
| 20. | Shatt al-Arab – Euphrates – Murat | 3,596 | Persian Gulf | Iraq (60.5%), Turkey (24.8%), Syria (14.7%) |
| 21. | Madeira – Mamoré – Grande – Caine – Rocha | 3,380 | Amazon | Brazil, Bolivia, Peru |
| 22. | Purús | 3,211 | Amazon | Brazil, Peru |
| 23. | Yukon | 3,185 | Bering Sea | United States (59.8%), Canada (40.2%) |
| 24. | São Francisco | 3,180 | Atlantic Ocean | Brazil |
| 25. | Syr Darya – Naryn | 3,078 | Aral Sea | Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan |
| 26. | Salween(Nu Jiang) | 3,060 | Andaman Sea | China (52.4%), Myanmar (43.9%), Thailand (3.7%) |
| 27. | Saint Lawrence – Niagara – Detroit – Saint Clair – Saint Marys – Saint Louis – North (Great Lakes) | 3,058 | Gulf of Saint Lawrence | Canada (52.1%), United States (47.9%) |
| 28. | Rio Grande | 3,057 | Gulf of Mexico | United States (52.1%), Mexico (47.9%) |
| 29. | Lower Tunguska | 2,989 | Yenisei | Russia |
| 30. | Danube – Breg (Donau, Dunăre, Duna, Dunav, Dunaj) | 2,888 | Black Sea | Romania (28.9%), Hungary (11.7%), Austria (10.3%), Serbia (10.3%), Germany (7.5%), Slovakia (5.8%), Bulgaria (5.2%), Croatia (4.5%), Ukraine (3.8%) |
| 31. | Irrawaddy River – N’Mai River – Dulong River – Kelaoluo – Gada Qu | 2,727 | Andaman Sea | China, Myanmar |
| 32. | Zambezi(Zambesi) | 2,693 | Mozambique Channel | Zambia (41.6%), Angola (18.4%), Zimbabwe (15.6%), Mozambique (11.8%), Malawi (8.0%), Tanzania (2.0%), Namibia, Botswana |
| 33. | Vilyuy | 2,650 | Lena | Russia |
| 34. | Araguaia | 2,627 | Tocantins | Brazil |
| 35. | Ganges – Hooghly – Padma (Ganga) | 2,620 | Bay of Bengal | India, Bangladesh, Nepal |
| 36. | Amu Darya – Panj | 2,620 | Aral Sea | Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan |
| 37. | Japurá (Rio Yapurá) | 2,615 | Amazon | Brazil, Colombia |
| 38. | Nelson – Saskatchewan | 2,570 | Hudson Bay | Canada, United States |
| 39. | Paraguay (Río-Paraguay) | 2,549 | Paraná | Brazil, Paraguay, Bolivia, Argentina |
| 40. | Kolyma | 2,513 | East Siberian Sea | Russia |
| 41. | Pilcomayo | 2,500 | Paraguay | Paraguay, Argentina, Bolivia |
| 42. | Upper Ob – Katun | 2,490 | Ob | Russia |
| 43. | Ishim | 2,450 | Irtysh | Kazakhstan, Russia |
| 44. | Juruá | 2,410 | Amazon | Peru, Brazil |
| 45. | Ural | 2,428 | Caspian Sea | Russia, Kazakhstan; Ural river is considered to be the dividing line between Europe and Asia. |
| 46. | Arkansas | 2,348 | Mississippi | United States |
| 47. | Colorado (western U.S.) | 2,333 | Gulf of California | United States, Mexico |
| 48. | Olenyok | 2,292 | Laptev Sea | Russia |
| 49. | Dnieper | 2,287 | Black Sea | Russia, Belarus, Ukraine |
| 50. | Aldan | 2,273 | Lena | Russia |
Citation
Use the citation below to add this article to your bibliography
Use the citation below to add this article to your bibliography
Styles:
"Most Important Rivers of the World: Names, Length and Countries." Dashamlav.com. Web. 30 April 2024. <https://dashamlav.com/important-rivers-world/>
Dashamlav.com, "Most Important Rivers of the World: Names, Length and Countries." Accessed 30 April 2024. https://dashamlav.com/important-rivers-world/
"Most Important Rivers of the World: Names, Length and Countries." (n.d.). Dashamlav.com. Retrieved 30 April 2024 from https://dashamlav.com/important-rivers-world/