19 Nations with No Rivers (One is 3X Larger than Texas!)

There are 19 international locations around the globe with no rivers in them. A lot of the bigger ones are within the Center East, however just a few are present in different places like Europe or Pacific Islands.

Extremely, one nation on this checklist is greater than 3X the dimensions of Texas whereas one other is greater than twice its measurement. But, the biggest nation on this checklist is dwelling to 35 million folks regardless of having no rivers inside its nationwide borders.

Water shortages have gotten too widespread of an issue around the globe which makes it particularly taxing on international locations that had restricted water to begin. Let’s take a look at the water sources in 19 international locations with no rivers or working water.

What Are Some Nations With out Rivers or Working Water?

A listing of 19 international locations with out rivers or flowing water is:

1. Comoros
2. Djibouti
3. Libya
4. Malta
5. Vatican Metropolis
6. Monaco
7. Kiribati
8. Marshall Islands
9. Nauru
10. Tonga
11. Tuvalu
12. Bahrain
13. Kuwait
14. Maldives
15. Oman
16. Qatar
17. Saudi Arabia
18. United Arab Emirates
19. Yemen

Under we’ll dive into extra particulars on 12 of those international locations, together with how they perform with out flowing rivers that create a steady supply of freshwater!

Nations in Africa with No Rivers or Working Water

There are three international locations in Africa with no working water. Comoros and Djibouti are small whereas Libya is the second-largest nation on the earth with out rivers.

1. Comoros

Comoros
Positioned	Between Madagascar and Mozambique
Space	719 sq. miles
Inhabitants	850,886

Comoros is an island nation in East Africa that will get virtually all its ingesting water from underground sources. Aquifers, or the water that exists deep within the floor, are tapped as a major ingesting supply. Whereas Comoros has no rivers, you’ll discover its terrain continues to be very tropical wanting. That’s as a result of elements of the island nonetheless obtain greater than 100 inches of rainfall per yr (sufficient to categorise as a tropical rain forest!). Comoros primarily doesn’t have rivers as a result of its space is just too small to generate giant flows of water.

Rises in sea stage have been affecting how salty the groundwater is getting, which places a major freshwater useful resource into jeopardy. Human growth has exacerbated the scenario.

2. Djibouti

Djibouti
Positioned	Horn of Africa close to Ethiopia and Somalia
Space (Sq Miles)	8,958 sq. miles
Inhabitants	921,804

A variety of the international locations on this checklist do have wadis, which implies there’s a saturated riverbed working by way of an space that does have a water move when seasonal rains come. It’s a part-time river.

Djibouti is a rustic in East Africa that’s arid however has wadis. 95% of Djibouti’s water provide comes from groundwater. A lot of the water is utilized in city areas and for irrigation.

Like Comoros, Djibouti’s water can also be being contaminated by saltwater. Makes an attempt to take away the salt from aquifers are promising. The concept is that having the ability to use desalination procedures will enable the nation to make use of the water they already know they’ve as a substitute of discovering extra contaminated sources.  

3. Libya

Libya
Positioned	Between Egypt and Algeria on the Mediterranean
Space (Sq Miles)	679,363 sq. miles
Inhabitants	6,992,701

Extremely, Libya is bigger than the state of Alaska, but has no rivers inside its borders!

Libya does have wadis nonetheless most of its groundwater provides should not renewable. It’s a North African nation, with most of its cities mendacity on the coast. Like different international locations, growth has depleted aquifers and encroaching sea ranges are inflicting a salinity downside.

Libya’s inhabitants has tripled for the reason that Nineteen Fifties. The water disaster is greater right here than it’s in different elements of Africa due to a booming inhabitants that’s placing extra demand on an already depleted system.

With no rivers, erratic rainfall, and disappearing groundwater, the scenario in Libya is an emergency. It could get so dangerous that future growth of the county might be halted.

Nations in Asia with No Rivers or Working Water

Asia has 8 international locations with no rivers and virtually all are positioned on the Arabian Peninsula. The one exception is Maldives, which is a sequence of islands within the Indian Ocean.

4. Bahrain

Bahrain
Positioned	Island within the Persian Gulf
Space (Sq Miles)	303 sq. smiles
Inhabitants	1,569,446

Local weather change and the following rising sea waters additionally have an effect on Bahrain. This nation has been utilizing desalination on groundwater, seawater, and sewage for industrial, municipal, and agricultural use.

88% of Bahrain’s water provide comes from 5 desalination vegetation which can be pricy to run. The federal government has stored the municipal water provide low cost so folks have entry to scrub water.

Investigations into the usage of water vapor, captured rainfall, and condensation are underway. The hope is that water could be generated this fashion for agricultural functions.

5. Kuwait

Kuwait
Positioned	On Persian Gulf close to Iraq and Saudi Arabia
Space (Sq Miles)	6,880
Inhabitants	4,420,110

Kuwait does have some wadis, although they don’t make a lot of a distinction within the nation’s water administration.

Because of the oil trade, development and growth have boomed in Kuwait over the past 50 years. As much as 93% of Kuwait’s water provide comes from the desalination of brackish water.

As is going on in another international locations, the taxing of sources that comes from desalting water is inflicting air pollution and unsustainable consumption of fossil fuels. One downside with sustainability is main to a different.

Based mostly on the oil wanted for water and electrical energy, in 30 years Kuwaitis could also be compelled to dwell with out contemporary water and air con if the scenario doesn’t enhance.

6. Maldives

Comoros
Positioned	Indian Ocean south of India
Space (Sq Miles)	120
Inhabitants	557,426

Due to the considerable reefs and seashores, the Maldives is a well-liked vacationer vacation spot. That is exacerbating the issues with a strained freshwater system.

A 2004 tsunami devastated already taxed pure reservoirs on the island. People who dwell on outer islands are with out ingesting water and depend on imported bottled water and rainfall. A lot of the groundwater in some locations is just too contaminated for potable functions.

It’s costly to ship sources in from the mainland, and water desalination vegetation drive the costs of imported sources by way of the roof. Efforts at discovering sustainable options are underway.

7. Oman

Oman
Positioned	Arabian Peninsula subsequent to Yemen
Space (Sq Miles)	119,500
Inhabitants	4,829,473

Wadis do exist in Oman, however virtually all of Oman’s water sources depend on groundwater. There are initiatives in place to attempt to construct dams on the wadis that flood so catastrophically. This is able to enable the county to retailer water for future use.

There may be extra land in Oman that may be farmed to extend agricultural manufacturing. Nevertheless, even the present agricultural techniques in place are unsustainable.

Oman has a harsh local weather and the unpredictable nature of each drought and flood impacts water potability throughout the nation. When pure disasters happen, elements of the inhabitants should migrate from the driest areas to allow them to entry clear water.

The recycling of greywater in municipal techniques is one other risk that Oman is contemplating. With many of the gray water coming from showers, virtually 83% of all freshwater is being consumed in households.

8. Qatar

Qatar
Positioned	Peninsula within the Persian Gulf
Space (Sq Miles)	4,471 sq. miles
Inhabitants	2,795,484

Financial development is quickly occurring due to the oil trade. 99% of the nation’s water comes from desalination. Once more, that is costly and usually unsustainable. The vitality consumption of desalination vegetation can also be enormous.

Like plenty of locations on this checklist, Qatar has wadis. These wadis don’t remedy the water disaster dealing with Qatar. Aside from the wadis that not often kind, there isn’t a freshwater floor water in Qatar.

An effort is being made to search out sustainable water sources so Qatar can develop its personal meals. Water rationing for conservation functions is being thought-about.

9. Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia
Positioned	Largest nation on the Arabian Peninsula
Space (Sq Miles)	830,000 sq. miles
Inhabitants	34,218,169

Saudi Arabia is the biggest nation on the earth with no rivers at 830,000 sq. miles. Or put one other method, it’s barely greater than 3 occasions the dimensions of the state of Texas!

Saudi Arabia is one other instance on our checklist of an arid nation dealing with the implications of local weather change. In areas studied, rainfall has decreased whereas temperatures have elevated.

There are wadis in Saudi Arabia which were dammed up. The truth is, there are a whole bunch of dams on wadis. That is an try to catch seasonal floor water from rain for consumption.

Due to the success of the oil trade over the past many years, Saudi Arabia has seen unprecedented development. In 39 years, their inhabitants grew from 6.9 million to 26 million. At present it stands at slightly below 35 million. The usual of dwelling has additionally dramatically elevated which brings an elevation in water consumption with it.

A myriad of water sources are utilized in Saudi Arabia to attempt to piece collectively sufficient water for nationwide consumption. Groundwater, seasonal floor water, rainwater collections, desalination vegetation, and recycled wastewater applications are all in place.

10. United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates
Positioned	Arabian Peninsula subsequent to Saudi Arabia and Oman
Space (Sq Miles)	32,300 sq. miles
Inhabitants	9,282,410

The United Arab Emirates has wadis, however once more, it isn’t sufficient to maintain the nation’s water wants. Like most different international locations on this checklist, inhabitants development, trade, and a rise in agriculture has led to a water disaster on this arid nation.

Groundwater is taxed, desalination vegetation exist, and wastewater is recycled. Agriculture makes use of up about 70% of the groundwater that’s accessible yearly, though wastewater for agriculture is in growth.

11. Yemen

Yemen
Positioned	South of Saudi Arabia on the Arabian Peninsula
Space (Sq Miles)	214,000
Inhabitants	30,491,000

Yemen is a semi-arid nation within the Center East that’s dealing with a extreme water disaster. There aren’t any plans in place to abate the scenario though their inhabitants is booming.

There are wadis right here, however they aren’t accessed for water sources. Yemen is burning by way of its non-sustainable water at a price that’s sooner than wherever else within the Center East.

The disaster that’s about to unfold for Yemen if one thing doesn’t change will lead to mass deaths as a consequence of dehydration. The nation might crumble below the stress of wanted water sources.

Yemenis are already coping with meals shortages as a consequence of an absence of water and there’s been an increase in well being issues associated to dehydration. Inner conflicts take their toll as effectively as a result of water can’t be monitored in these areas.

European Nations with No Rivers or Working Water

Europe has three international locations with no rivers. Two are extraordinarily small – the Vatican and Monaco – whereas Malta is an island within the Mediterranean.

12. Malta

Malta
Positioned	Mediterranean Sea
Space (Sq Miles)	122 sq. miles
Inhabitants	516,100

Malta is an island within the Mediterranean that could be a hotspot for tourism. Whereas many of the nation depends on the revenue from tourism, the useful resource consumption by vacationers is exacerbating the water disaster.

Salinity ranges in aquifers and different groundwater sources have gotten too contaminated with salt water for use. Even the water that’s popping out of faucets on this nation is just too salty.

Chemical compounds from agriculture are additionally polluting the groundwater on which sure settlements are absolutely dependent. Whereas desalination by way of reverse osmosis is a tactic being applied, it isn’t wide-reaching and sure locations nonetheless have restricted potable water.