The CIA World Factbook Edition 2001 Transportation

Waterways In 35 editions of 36.

Waterways was published in 35 editions of the CIA World Factbook, from 1990 to 2024. The 2001 edition carries it in 260 entries, in its Transportation section. Every entry is shown as that edition published it.

entries in the 2001 edition
260
the first edition with it
1990
the latest edition with it
2024

Published as “Waterways” (1996 to 2024) and “Inland waterways” (1990 to 1995).

the entry has the field in that editionnot in that editionthe open editionEach entry below ends in its editions with Waterways, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down; choose one in a row to read that edition’s text there.

Entries with Waterways in each edition

19902000201020202025

Select a bar to open that edition.

Africa

62 entries

Algeria

none

Angola

1,295 km

Bassas da India

none

Benin

streams navigable along small sections, important only locally

Botswana

none

Burkina Faso

none

Burundi

Lake Tanganyika

Cape Verde now Cabo Verde

none

Cameroon

2,090 km (of decreasing importance)

Central African Republic

  • 900 km note: traditional trade carried on by means of shallow-draft dugouts;
  • Oubangui is the most important river, navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6 m or less;
  • 282 km navigable to craft drawing as much as 1.8 m

Chad

2,000 km

Comoros

none

Congo, Democratic Republic of the now Democratic Republic of the Congo

15,000 km (including the Congo and its tributaries, and unconnected lakes)

Congo, Republic of the now Republic of the Congo

1,120 km note: the Congo and Ubangi (Oubangui) rivers provide 1,120 km of commercially navigable water transport; other rivers are used for local traffic only

Cote d'Ivoire

980 km (navigable rivers, canals, and numerous coastal lagoons)

Djibouti

none

Egypt

  • 3,500 km note: including the Nile, Lake Nasser, Alexandria-Cairo Waterway, and numerous smaller canals in the delta;
  • Suez Canal (193.5 km including approaches), used by oceangoing vessels drawing up to 16.1 m of water

Equatorial Guinea

none

Eritrea

none

Swaziland now Eswatini

none

Ethiopia

none

Europa Island

none

Gabon

1,600 km (perennially navigable)

Gambia, The now The Gambia

400 km

Ghana

  • 1,293 km note: Volta, Ankobra, and Tano Rivers provide 168 km of perennial navigation for launches and lighters;
  • Lake Volta provides 1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways

Glorioso Islands

none

Guinea

1,295 km (navigable by shallow-draft native craft)

Guinea-Bissau

several rivers are accessible to coastal shipping

Juan de Nova Island

none

Kenya

NA note:
part of the Lake Victoria system is within the boundaries of Kenya

Lesotho

none

Liberia

none

Libya

none

Madagascar

note: of local importance only

Malawi

144 km note: on Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and Shire Riverall

Mali

1,815 km

Mauritania

note: ferry traffic on the Senegal River

Mauritius

none

Mayotte

none

Morocco

none

Mozambique

3,750 km (navigable routes)

Namibia

none

Niger

300 km note: the Niger River is navigable from Niamey to Gaya on the Benin frontier from mid-December through March

Nigeria

8,575 km note: consisting of the Niger and Benue rivers and smaller rivers and creeks

Reunion

none

Rwanda

note: Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft

Saint Helena now Saint Helena, Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha

none

Sao Tome and Principe

none

Senegal

897 km note: 785 km on the Senegal river, and 112 km on the Saloum river

Seychelles

none

Sierra Leone

800 km (of which 600 km navigable year round)

Somalia

none

South Africa

NA

Sudan

5,310 km

Tanzania

note: Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, and Lake Nyasa are principal avenues of commerce between Tanzania and its neighbors on those lakes

Togo

50 km (Mono river)

Tromelin Island

none

Tunisia

none

Uganda

  • Lake Victoria,
  • Lake Albert,
  • Lake Kyoga,
  • Lake George,
  • Lake Edward,
  • Victoria Nile,
  • Albert Nile

Western Sahara

none

Zambia

2,250 km note: includes Lake Tanganyika and the Zambezi and Luapula rivers

Zimbabwe

the Mazoe and Zambezi rivers are used for transporting chrome ore from Harare to Mozambique

Antarctic Region

4 entries

Arctic Region

4 entries

Greenland

none

Iceland

none

Jan Mayen

none

Svalbard

none

Asia

23 entries

Afghanistan

1,200 km note: chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels with DWT up to about 500 (2001)

Armenia

NA km

Azerbaijan

none

Bangladesh

up to 8,046 km depending on season note:
includes 3,058 km main cargo routes

Bhutan

none

British Indian Ocean Territory

none

China

110,000 km (1999)

Georgia

none

India

16,180 km note: 3,631 km navigable by large vessels

Japan

1,770 km approximately note: seagoing craft ply all coastal inland seas

Kazakhstan

3,900 km note: on the Syrdariya (Syr Darya) and Ertis (Irtysh) rivers

Korea, North now North Korea

2,253 km note: mostly navigable by small craft only

Korea, South now South Korea

1,609 km note: restricted to small native craft

Kyrgyzstan

600 km (1990)

Maldives

none

Mongolia

400 km (1999)

Nepal

none

Pakistan

none

Russia

  • 95,900 km (total routes in general use) note: routes with navigation guides serving the Russian River Fleet-95,900 km;
  • routes with night navigational aids-60,400 km;
  • man-made navigable routes-16,900 km (Jan 1994)

Sri Lanka

430 km (navigable by shallow-draft craft)

Tajikistan

none

Turkmenistan

the Amu Darya is an important inland waterway for Turkmenistan

Uzbekistan

1,100 km (1990)

Central America and the Caribbean

32 entries

Anguilla

none

Antigua and Barbuda

none

Aruba

none

Bahamas, The now The Bahamas

none

Barbados

none

Belize

825 km (river network used by shallow-draft craft; seasonally navigable)

British Virgin Islands

none

Cayman Islands

none

Costa Rica

730 km (seasonally navigable)

Cuba

240 km

Dominica

none

Dominican Republic

none

El Salvador

Rio Lempa partially navigable

Grenada

none

Guadeloupe

none

Guatemala

990 km note: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during highwater season

Haiti

NEGL; less than 100 km navigable

Honduras

465 km (navigable by small craft)

Jamaica

none

Martinique

none

Montserrat

none

Navassa Island

none

Netherlands Antilles

none

Nicaragua

2,220 km (including 2 large lakes)

Panama

882 km note: 800 km navigable by shallow draft vessels; 82 km Panama Canal

Puerto Rico

none

Saint Kitts and Nevis

none

Saint Lucia

none

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

none

Trinidad and Tobago

none

Turks and Caicos Islands

none

Virgin Islands

none

Europe

46 entries

Albania

43 km note: includes Albanian sections of Lake Scutari, Lake Ohrid, and Lake Prespa (1990)

Andorra

none

Austria

358 km (1999)

Belarus

NA km; note - Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems

Belgium

2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use)

Bosnia and Herzegovina

NA km; large sections of the Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris

Bulgaria

470 km (1987)

Croatia

785 km note: (perennially navigable; large sections of Sava blocked by downed bridges, silt, and debris)

Czech Republic now Czechia

  • 303 km note: (the Labe (Elbe) is the principal river) (2000)

Denmark

417 km

Estonia

320 km (perennially navigable)

Faroe Islands

none

Finland

6,675 km note: includes Saimaa Canal; 3,700 km suitable for large ships

France

14,932 km (6,969 km heavily traveled)

Germany

7,500 km note: major rivers include the Rhine and Elbe; Kiel Canal is an important connection between the Baltic Sea and North Sea (1999)

Gibraltar

none

Greece

80 km note: system consists of three coastal canals including the Corinth Canal (6 km) which crosses the Isthmus of Corinth connecting the Gulf of Corinth with the Saronic Gulf and shortens the sea voyage from the Adriatic to Peiraiefs (Piraeus) by 325 km; there are also three unconnected rivers

Guernsey

none

Holy See (Vatican City)

none

Hungary

  • 1,373 km (permanently navigable) (1997)

Ireland

  • 700 km (limited facilities for commercial traffic) (1998)

Man, Isle of now Isle of Man

none

Italy

2,400 km note: for various types of commercial traffic, although of limited overall value

Jersey

none

Latvia

300 km (perennially navigable)

Liechtenstein

none

Lithuania

600 km (perennially navigable)

Luxembourg

37 km (on the Moselle)

Malta

none

Moldova

424 km (1994)

Monaco

none

Netherlands

5,046 km note: 47% of total route length is usable by craft of 1,000 metric ton capacity or larger

Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of now North Macedonia

note: lake transport only, on the Greek and Albanian borders

Norway

1,577 km (along west coast) note: navigable by 2.4 m maximum draft vessels

Poland

  • 3,812 km (navigable rivers and canals) (1996)

Portugal

820 km note: relatively unimportant to national economy, used by shallow-draft craft limited to 300 metric-ton or less cargo capacity

Romania

1,724 km (1984)

San Marino

none

Yugoslavia now Serbia and Montenegro

  • 587 km note: The Danube River, which connects Europe with the Black Sea, runs through Serbia;
  • since early 2000, a pontoon bridge, replacing a destroyed conventional bridge, has obstructed river traffic at Novi Sad;
  • the obstruction can be bypassed by a canal system but inadequate lock size limits the size of vessels which may pass (2001)

Slovakia

172 km (all on the Danube)

Slovenia

NA

Spain

1,045 km (of minor economic importance)

Sweden

2,052 km note: navigable for small steamers and barges

Switzerland

65 km note: The Rhine carries heavy traffic on the Basel-Rheinfelden and Schaffhausen-Bodensee stretches; there are also 12 navigable lakes

Ukraine

  • 4,499 km note: (1,672 km are on the Pryp'yat' and Dnistr) (1990)

United Kingdom

3,200 km

Middle East

17 entries

Bahrain

none

Cyprus

none

Gaza Strip

none

Iran

904 km note: the Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3 m and is in use

Iraq

  • 1,015 km note: Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km;
  • channel has been dredged to 3 m and is in use;
  • Tigris and Euphrates Rivers have navigable sections for shallow-draft boats;
  • Shatt al Basrah canal was navigable by shallow-draft craft before closing in 1991 because of the Gulf war

Israel

none

Jordan

none

Kuwait

none

Lebanon

none

Oman

none

Qatar

none

Saudi Arabia

none

Syria

870 km (minimal economic importance)

Turkey now Turkiye

1,200 km (approximately)

United Arab Emirates

none

West Bank

none

Yemen

none

North America

6 entries

Bermuda

none

Canada

3,000 km (including Saint Lawrence Seaway)

Clipperton Island

none

Mexico

2,900 km note: navigable rivers and coastal canals

Saint Pierre and Miquelon

none

United States

41,009 km note: navigable inland channels, exclusive of the Great Lakes

Oceania

34 entries

American Samoa

none

Australia

8,368 km (mainly used by small, shallow-draft craft)

Baker Island

none

Cook Islands

none

Coral Sea Islands

none

Fiji

203 km note: 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges

French Polynesia

none

Guam

none

Howland Island

none

Jarvis Island

none

Johnston Atoll

none

Kingman Reef

none

Kiribati

5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands)

Marshall Islands

none

Micronesia, Federated States of now Federated States of Micronesia

none

Midway Islands

none

Nauru

none

New Caledonia

none

New Zealand

1,609 km note: of little importance in satisfying total transportation requirements

Niue

none

Norfolk Island

none

Northern Mariana Islands

none

Palau

none

Palmyra Atoll

none

Papua New Guinea

10,940 km

Pitcairn Islands

none

Samoa

none

Solomon Islands

none

Tokelau

none

Tonga

none

Tuvalu

none

Vanuatu

none

Wake Island

none

Wallis and Futuna

none

South America

14 entries

Argentina

10,950 km

Bolivia

10,000 km (commercially navigable)

Brazil

50,000 km

Chile

725 km

Colombia

  • 18,140 km (navigable by river boats) (April 1996)

Ecuador

1,500 km

Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas)

none

French Guiana

3,300 km navigable by native craft note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers

Guyana

5,900 km (total length of navigable waterways) note: Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km, respectively

Paraguay

3,100 km

Peru

8,808 km note: 8,600 km of navigable tributaries of Amazon system and 208 km of Lago Titicaca

Suriname

1,200 km note: most important means of transport; oceangoing vessels with drafts ranging up to 7 m can navigate many of the principal waterways

Uruguay

1,600 km ( used by coastal and shallow-draft river craft)

Venezuela

7,100 km note: Rio Orinoco and Lago de Maracaibo accept oceangoing vessels

Southeast Asia

18 entries

Ashmore and Cartier Islands

none

Brunei

209 km; navigable by craft drawing less than 1.2 m

Burma now Burma (Myanmar)

12,800 km note: 3,200 km navigable by large commercial vessels

Cambodia

3,700 km note: navigable all year to craft drawing 0.6 m or less; 282 km navigable to craft drawing as much as 1.8 m

Christmas Island

none

Cocos (Keeling) Islands

none

Hong Kong

none

Indonesia

21,579 km total note: Sumatra 5,471 km, Java and Madura 820 km, Kalimantan 10,460 km, Sulawesi (Celebes) 241 km, Irian Jaya 4,587 km

Laos

4,587 km approximately note: primarily Mekong and tributaries; 2,897 additional km are intermittently navigable by craft drawing less than 0.5 m

Macau

none

Malaysia

7,296 km note: Peninsular Malaysia 3,209 km, Sabah 1,569 km, Sarawak 2,518 km

Paracel Islands

none

Philippines

3,219 km note: limited to vessels with a draft of less than 1.5 m

Singapore

none

Spratly Islands

none

Taiwan

NA

Thailand

4,000 km note: 3,701 km are navigable throughout the year by boats with drafts up to 0.9 meters; numerous minor waterways serve shallow-draft native craft

Vietnam

17,702 km note: more than 5,149 km are navigable at all times by vessels up to 1.8 m draft

Cite this page

Central Intelligence Agency. The World Factbook 2001, “Waterways”, all entries. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/fields/waterways/2001.

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