Sudan has the largest area within the Nile River basin.
The Nile basin covers about 3.4 million square kilometres across eleven countries, and Sudan contains the largest national share. The country is where the White Nile and Blue Nile meet at Khartoum before the combined river flows north toward Egypt.
The basin also includes substantial territories in Egypt, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Eritrea and South Sudan. Ethiopia is especially important because the Blue Nile rises there and contributes much of the Nile’s seasonal flow, but Ethiopia’s basin area is smaller than Sudan’s.
The Nile itself is commonly described as the world’s longest river, although measurements and definitions can produce debate. Its two main tributaries, the White Nile and Blue Nile, converge in Sudan’s capital, making Sudan central to the river system’s geography.