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Member states

If any single country can be said to geographically dominate the Nile Basin, it is Sudan. The largest country in Africa, it makes up roughly 63 percent of the Basin’s land area, and 75 percent of the country lies within the Basin itself. The Nile runs through the entire country from south to north providing about 77 percent of Sudan’s fresh water. It is also in Sudan where the White Nile and the Blue Nile converge to form the main Nile, giving it a central place in the country’s history and culture.
Sudan and the Nile Basin Initiative: Benefits of cooperation

Tanzania is a country with abundant water resources – it has a dozen major rivers and lakes. Like other countries in the Nile Basin, Tanzania has been paying renewed attention to its water resources over the past years. Despite the abundance, the country still faces shortages of water for domestic use, pollution is a problem, climate change is affecting rainfall, and traditional agricultural techniques have led to erosion and environmental degradation. And, with some 80 percent of the population involved in agriculture, the need for adequate water – and new ways of using it efficiently – have become key concerns. Though it only covers about 13 percent of the national area, the Basin borders on Lake Victoria, offering a wide range of opportunities and impacting the entire economy.
Tanzania and the Nile Basin Initiative: Benefits of cooperation

Uganda has played a starring role in the story of the Nile ever since 1862, when the explorer John Henning Speke found the spot where the river flows from Lake Victoria, near the current day town of Jinja, and speculated that he had discovered the source of the Nile. Later explorations placed the ultimate source further to the south, in Burundi, but Uganda is still popularly thought of as the source of the Nile, and a steady stream of visitors from around the world comes to Jinja every year to see it. But the Nile is far more to Uganda than a mere tourist attraction. Fully 99 percent of the country is in the Nile Basin, and the river touches the lives of virtually all of the country’s more than 35 million people. As it winds its way north and west from Lake Victoria, crashing through the magnificent Murchison Falls before turning north at Lake Albert, the river is used for hydropower, transportation, fishing, agriculture and a wide range of other activities.
Uganda and the Nile Basin Initiative: Benefits of cooperation

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