Zambezi River

The Zambezi River is the fourth-longest river in Africa, flowing about 2 574 km from its source in north-western Zambia through Angola, along the borders of Namibia, Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe, and across Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. It drains a basin of approximately 1.39-million square kilometres, spanning eight countries and supporting diverse ecosystems, agriculture and human settlements. The river is best known for Victoria Falls, one of the world's largest waterfalls, and for two major hydroelectric dams: Kariba Dam on the Zambia–Zimbabwe border and Cahora Bassa Dam in Mozambique. These facilities provide significant electricity generation capacity for the region, underpinning industrial and domestic power supply in southern Africa. The Zambezi supports commercial and subsistence fishing, irrigation for agriculture, and navigation in certain stretches, though seasonal variation and infrastructure limit year-round navigability. Its floodplains and wetlands, including the Barotse Floodplain in Zambia and the delta in Mozambique, are ecologically important and sustain livelihoods through farming, fishing and grazing. Water management and allocation among riparian states are coordinated under the Zambezi Watercourse Commission, which addresses issues of flow regulation, environmental sustainability and transboundary cooperation. The river's flow is sensitive to climate variability, and droughts have periodically reduced reservoir levels, affecting hydropower output and water availability. The Zambezi remains central to the economies, energy security and natural heritage of the countries it traverses.