River · Central African Republic
Ubangi
Ubangi is the longest river of the Central African Republic. It forms a wide border with the neighbouring country, curves through thick rainforest and finally pours its water into the Congo near Liranga.
Picture credit: Adolf Friedrich, Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 1873-1969; Deutsche Zentral-Afrik (No restrictions) · Internet Archive Book Images (No restrictions) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is the Ubangi?
The river starts here: Where the Uele and the Mbomou meet.
It ends in the the Congo River near Liranga.
Countries on the river: the Central African Republic.
The story behind it
The Ubangi is born where two rivers, the Uele and the Mbomou, flow together. From there it runs wide and brown past forest, grassland and small fishing villages. Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, stands right on its bank, and its market is full of smoked fish, bananas and baskets brought in by canoe. Hippos rest in quiet bays, crocodiles glide past sandbanks and huge catfish live in the deep pools. In the dry season the water drops so low that sandbanks appear and big boats have to wait for the rains. Because the river separates two countries, people cross it every day in narrow wooden boats. How long the Ubangi really is depends on whether the Uele is counted as part of it, so books give different numbers.
Questions children ask
How long is the Ubangi?
About 1 060 kilometres are usually given for the Ubangi. Some books name a much larger figure, because they include the Uele, one of the rivers that form it.
Which countries does the Ubangi flow through?
It belongs to the Central African Republic and at the same time marks its southern border. On the other bank lie the Democratic Republic of the Congo and, further down, the Republic of the Congo.
Where does the Ubangi end?
It flows into the Congo near the village of Liranga. The Congo then carries the water westward to the Atlantic Ocean.
Where these numbers come from
Every figure on this page was checked against public reference sources before publication. Where sources genuinely disagree, the text says so.
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