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  Field Listing - Waterways


Country
Waterways (km)
Afghanistan 1,200 km
note: chiefly Amu Darya, which handles vessels up to 500 DWT (2004)
Albania 43 km (2004)
Angola 1,300 km
Argentina 11,000 km (2004)
Australia 2,000 km (mainly used for recreation on Murray and Murray-Darling river systems) (2004)
Austria 358 km (2003)
Bangladesh 8,372 km
note: includes 2,575 km main cargo routes (2004)
Belarus Belarus has extensive and widely used canal and river systems (2004)
Belgium 2,043 km (1,528 km in regular commercial use) (2003)
Belize 825 km (navigable only by small craft) (2004)
Benin 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2004)
Bolivia 10,000 km (commercially navigable) (2004)
Bosnia and Herzegovina Sava River (northern border) is open to shipping but its use is limited because of the lack of an agreement with neighboring countries (2004)
Brazil 50,000 km (most in areas remote from industry and population) (2004)
Brunei 209 km (navigable by craft drawing less than 1.2 m) (2004)
Bulgaria 470 km (2004)
Burma 12,800 km (2004)
Burundi mainly on Lake Tanganyika (2004)
Cambodia 2,400 km (mainly on Mekong River) (2004)
Cameroon navigation mainly on Benue River; limited during rainy season (2004)
Canada 631 km
note: in addition, the Saint Lawrence Seaway of 3,769 km, including the Saint Lawrence River of 3,058 km, is shared with the United States (2003)
Central African Republic 2,800 km (primarily on the Oubangui and Sangha rivers) (2004)
Chad Chari and Legone rivers are navigable only in wet season (2002)
China 121,557 km (2002)
Colombia 9,187 km (2004)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the 15,000 km (navigation on the Congo has been curtailed by fighting) (2004)
Congo, Republic of the 4,385 km (on Congo and Oubanqui rivers) (2004)
Costa Rica 730 km (seasonally navigable by small craft) (2004)
Cote d'Ivoire 980 km (navigable rivers, canals, and numerous coastal lagoons) (2003)
Croatia 785 km (2004)
Cuba 240 km (2004)
Czech Republic 664 km (on Elbe, Vlatava, and Oder rivers) (2004)
Denmark 417 km (2001)
Ecuador 1,500 km (most inaccessible) (2003)
Egypt 3,500 km
note: includes the Nile, Lake Nasser, Alexandria-Cairo Waterway, and numerous smaller canals in the delta; Suez Canal (193.5 km including approaches) navigable by oceangoing vessels drawing up to 17.68 m of water (2004)
El Salvador Rio Lempa partially navigable (2004)
Estonia 500 km (2003)
Fiji 203 km
note: 122 km navigable by motorized craft and 200-metric-ton barges (2004)
Finland 7,842 km
note: includes Saimaa Canal system of 3,577 km; southern part leased from Russia (2004)
France 8,500 km (1,686 km accessible to craft of 3,000 metric tons) (2000)
French Guiana 3,760 km
note: 460 km navigable by small oceangoing vessels and coastal and river steamers; 3,300 km by native craft (2004)
Gabon 1,600 km (310 km on Ogooue River) (2003)
Gambia, The 390 km (on River Gambia; small ocean-going vessels can reach 190 km) (2004)
Germany 7,300 km
note: Rhine River carries most goods; Main-Danube Canal links North Sea and Black Sea (2004)
Ghana 1,293 km
note: 168 km for launches and lighters on Volta, Ankobra, and Tano rivers; 1,125 km of arterial and feeder waterways on Lake Volta (2003)
Greece 6 km
note: Corinth Canal (6 km) crosses the Isthmus of Corinth; shortens sea voyage by 325 km (2004)
Guatemala 990 km
note: 260 km navigable year round; additional 730 km navigable during high-water season (2004)
Guinea 1,295 km (navigable by shallow-draft native craft) (2003)
Guinea-Bissau 4 largest rivers are navigable to some distance; many inlets and creeks give shallow-water access to much of interior (2004)
Guyana 1,077 km
note: Berbice, Demerara, and Essequibo rivers are navigable by oceangoing vessels for 150 km, 100 km, and 80 km, respectively (2004)
Honduras 465 km (most navigable only by small craft) (2004)
Hungary 1,622 km (most on Danube River) (2004)
India 14,500 km
note: 5,200 km on major rivers and 485 km on canals suitable for mechanized vessels (2004)
Indonesia 21,579 km
note: Sumatra 5,471 km, Java and Madura 820 km, Kalimantan 10,460 km, Sulawesi (Celebes) 241 km, Irian Jaya 4,587 km (2004)
Iran 850 km (on Karun River and Lake Urmia) (2004)
Iraq 5,275 km (not all navigable)
note: Euphrates River (2,815 km), Tigris River (1,895 km), and Third River (565 km) are principal waterways (2004)
Ireland 753 km (pleasure craft only) (2004)
Italy 2,400 km
note: used for commercial traffic; of limited overall value compared to road and rail (2004)
Japan 1,770 km (seagoing vessels use inland seas) (2004)
Kazakhstan 4,000 km
note: on the Syr Darya (Syrdariya) and Ertis (Irtysh) rivers (2004)
Kenya part of Lake Victoria system is within boundaries of Kenya (2004)
Kiribati 5 km (small network of canals in Line Islands) (2003)
Korea, North 2,250 km
note: most navigable only by small craft (2004)
Korea, South 1,609 km
note: restricted to small native craft
Kyrgyzstan 600 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
Latvia 300 km (perennially navigable)
Lithuania 600 km (perennially navigable)
Luxembourg 37 km (on the Moselle)
Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of lake transport only, on the Greek and Albanian borders
Madagascar of local importance only
Malawi 144 km
note: on Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and Shire Riverall
Malaysia 7,296 km
note: Peninsular Malaysia 3,209 km, Sabah 1,569 km, Sarawak 2,518 km
Mali 1,815 km
Mauritania ferry traffic on the Senegal River
Mexico 2,900 km
note: navigable rivers and coastal canals
Moldova 424 km
Mongolia 400 km (1999)
Mozambique 3,750 km (navigable routes)
Netherlands 5,046 km (of which 3,745 km are canals)
note: 47% of total route length is usable by craft of 1,000-metric-ton capacity or larger
New Zealand 1,609 km
note: of little importance in satisfying total transportation requirements
Nicaragua 2,220 km (including 2 large lakes)
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
Norway 1,577 km (along west coast)
note: navigable by 2.4 m maximum draft vessels
Panama 882 km
note: 800 km navigable by shallow draft vessels; 82 km Panama Canal
Papua New Guinea 10,940 km
Paraguay 3,100 km
Peru 8,808 km
note: 8,600 km of navigable tributaries of Amazon system and 208 km of Lago Titicaca
Philippines 3,219 km
note: limited to vessels with a draft of less than 1.5 m
Poland 3,812 km (navigable rivers and canals)
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
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
Rwanda Lac Kivu navigable by shallow-draft barges and native craft
Senegal 897 km
note: 785 km on the Senegal river, and 112 km on the Saloum river
Serbia and Montenegro 587 km (2001)
Sierra Leone 800 km (of which 600 km is navigable year round)
Slovakia 172 km (all on the Danube)
Spain 1,045 km (of minor economic importance)
Sri Lanka 430 km (navigable by shallow-draft craft)
Sudan 5,310 km
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
Sweden 2,052 km
note: navigable to 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
Syria 870 km (minimal economic importance)
Tanzania Lake Tanganyika, Lake Victoria, and Lake Nyasa are principal avenues of commerce between Tanzania and its neighbors on those lakes
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
Togo 50 km (Mono river)
Turkey 1,200 km (approximately)
Turkmenistan the Amu Darya is an important inland waterway for Turkmenistan, as is the man-made Kara Kum canal
Uganda Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, Lake George, Lake Edward, Victoria Nile, Albert Nile
Ukraine 4,499 km
note: 1,672 km are on the Pryp'yat' and Dniester (Dnister)
United Kingdom 3,200 km
United States 41,009 km
note: navigable inland channels, exclusive of the Great Lakes
Uruguay 1,600 km (used by coastal and shallow-draft river craft)
Uzbekistan 1,100 km
Venezuela 7,100 km
note: Rio Orinoco and Lago de Maracaibo accept oceangoing vessels
Vietnam 17,702 km
note: more than 5,149 km are navigable at all times by vessels up to 1.8 m draft
Zambia 2,250 km
note: includes Lake Tanganyika and the Zambezi and Luapula rivers
Zimbabwe chrome ore is transported from Harare - by way of the Mazoe River - to the Zambezi River in Mozambique

This page was last updated on 5 October, 2004


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