Nile Nile The Nile (, written as al-Nīl, pronounced as an-Nīl) is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa, and is the longest river in the world, though some sources cite the Amazon River as the longest. The Nile, which is 6,853 km (4,258 miles) long, is an "international" river as its drainage basin covers eleven countries, namely, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Republic of the Sudan and Egypt. In particular, the Nile is the primary water source of Egypt and Sudan. The river Nile has two major tributaries, the White
Water conflict in the Middle East and North Africa pursue unilaterally the development of Nile River headwaters within Ethiopian territory. By the year 2000, more than 200 small dams had been constructed along Nile headwaters. Collectively, the dams will use nearly 500 million mcm/y of the Nile’s annual flow. Ethiopia is the only Nile River riparian to make a legal claim to Nile waters other than Egypt or Sudan since the Nile Waters Treaty was signed in 1959. Like in Egypt, population growth in Ethiopia has led to an increase in water consumption. Ethiopian population growth exceeds that of Egypt, and with populations of roughly equal size, Ethiopia’s water