17 countries in the world dont have any rivers at all! Do you know which ones? There are around 196 countries in the world, some of which play host to very impressive rivers. But, believe it or not, there are actually 17 countries that have no rivers at all. First of all, one should define what we mean by “rivers”. In this context, we are talking about permanent bodies of running water. Some contenders will be easy to understand since they are effectively in a desert. These would be the likes of Saudi Arabia (the largest non-rivered country), Oman, Qatar, Yemen, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait. These countries do actually have dry river beds that flood from time to time, but have no permanent running rivers of any description. The next batch are also fairly easy to understand since they are more countries by name than by geography. These would be places like Monaco and the Vatican City, which are also the smallest two countries in the world. The Vatican measures in at less than a quarter of a square mile, with Monaco just breaking the three quarters of a square mile mark. The final batch of riverless countries are all islands and are riverless for one of two main reasons. They are either too small to have a river or they don’t have anything high enough for a river to flow from. Some even meet both requirements, so really have no chance. Of the larger islands, we have the Bahamas, Comoros, Matla - which lays claim to rather being one of the most densely populated countries in the world - and the Maldives, whose 1,192 islands can only scrape together a highest point just shy of 8 feet. Rounding out the kayak unfriendly nations are the island clusters of the Pacific Ocean. Kiribati covers 310 square miles and is the largest from a surface area point of view, but is scattered over 32 atolls. Tonga, more known for its rugby than any water sports, comes in next and is followed by the Marshall Islands spread over 24 atolls and Tuvalu, boasting a rather diminutive area of 10 square miles. The final entry on the list lays claim to not only being riverless, but Nauru, a single island in the Pacific Ocean with a shade over 9,000 inhabitants, is the second least populated sovereign state in the world after the 110 acre Vatican City.
Posted on: Mon, 03 Feb 2014 16:58:48 +0000
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