River Nile Fact File
Countries: The Nile flows through 10 countries: Sudan, South Sudan, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Uganda and Egypt.
Length: 6650 km (4130 miles)
Source: The White Nile (primary tributary) has its source in either Rwanda or Burundi. The Blue Nile (secondary) starts at Lake Tana, Ethiopia.
Mouth: Mediterranean Sea
Other River Nile Facts
- The Nile’s two major tributaries, the White Nile and the Blue Nile, meet at Khartoum, Sudan.
- Egypt’s population has depended up the Nile for thousands of years. Most of Egypt’s population and settlements lie along the banks of the Nile.
- The Ancient Egyptians called the Nile, the Great River.
- It is the longest river in the world.
- The drainage basin of the Nile covers about one tenth of all of Africa.
- In 1970 the Aswan Dam was built to generate hydroelectric power and to control the flow of water for irrigation. It has had a significant impact on agricultural practices and has led to flooding and loss of sediment deposits (relied upon by the Ancient Egyptians to make the fields fertile during the summer floods).
- Some of the largest settlements on the banks of the Nile are: Cairo, Khartoum, Aswan and Luxor.
- The Nile River is bridged in many places
- The northern section of the river flows mainly through an area of desert.
If you want to find out more about how the Ancient Egyptians relied upon the Nile, click here. (coming soon)
Follow this link to check out more of our River Fact Files, or discover more about some of the other longest rivers in the world.
