What Is the Longest River in the World?

The Nile River in northeastern Africa is the world's longest river at ~6,650 km (4,132 mi).

It flows north through 11 countries (Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, DRC, Eritrea) from headwaters in the Kagera River (Lake Victoria basin) and Blue Nile (Lake Tana, Ethiopia) to the Mediterranean Sea.

Historically, the Nile's annual flood sustained Egyptian civilization for millennia. Today, the Aswan High Dam regulates flow, enabling irrigation and hydropower but reducing sediment delivery to the delta.

Note: Some studies argue the Amazon may be slightly longer depending on source definition, but Nile remains the consensus longest.