In Africa, some countries do not have rivers; some of them are desert encroached states and microstates. According to research, Comoros and Libya have no river.
Yet, it is quite impressive to see how such massive countries as Libya, almost 1.8 million square kilometers, and the fourth largest country in Africa, have no rivers and still manage to get enough water for the entire population (6,871,287 people).
Countries without rivers in Africa
1. Libya
Libya is mostly covered by the Libyan desert, therefore, making it one of the aridest and sun-baked places on earth. The country has no natural rivers but a man-made (pipelined) river.
The great human-made River (GMMR) is a network of pipes that provide fresh water obtained from the Nubian sandstone aquifer system throughout Libya. The water covers a distance of up to 1600 kilometers and supplies 70% of all freshwater used in Libya.
The fossil aquifer from which this water is supplied is the Nubian sandstone aquifer system. It accumulated in the last ice age and is currently not being replenished. If the recovery rate of 2007 is not increased, the water could take a thousand years.
Independent estimates show that the aquifer could be water-depleted within 60 to 100 years. Analysts say that the cost of the $25 billion groundwater extraction system is 10% of that of desalination.
2. Comoros
Comoros, a country in Eastern Africa, is a volcanic archipelago off the east coast of Africa, stretching from the warm waters of the Indian Ocean of the Mozambique-channel.
The island in horn Africa consists of three islands: Grande Comore (Ngazidja), Anjouan (Nzwani), and Mohéli (Mwali). These islands were created by volcanic activity along a crevice in the underlying seabed that runs west-northwest to east-southeast. The center of Grande Comore is a desert slave field.
In Comoros, mangrove swamps can be found along with the coastal areas of the islands. In some places, rocky cliffs rise dramatically from the sea. There are no large lakes, and there are no significant rivers in Comoros.
