The Rhine in hard numbers — every figure sourced from primary data by ICPR, CCNR, Eurostat and peer-reviewed studies. Click any section to explore the full article behind the data.
Geography
| Metric |
Value |
Source |
| Total length |
1,232.7 km |
CHR/KHR 2015 |
| Countries in catchment |
9 |
ICPR 2024 |
| Catchment area |
185,000 km² |
ICPR 2024 |
| Population in catchment |
~58 million |
ICPR 2020 |
| Lake Constance surface area |
536 km² |
IGKB |
| Rhine Falls height |
23 m |
Canton of Schaffhausen |
| River sections |
7 (Alpine Rhine to Delta) |
CHR/KHR |
| Largest tributary by discharge |
Aare (559 m³/s) |
BAFU Switzerland |
| Loreley narrows width |
113 m |
WSA Rhein |
| Waal share of delta flow |
67% |
Rijkswaterstaat |
Ecology
| Metric |
Value |
Source |
| Fish species recorded |
71 |
ICPR Monitoring |
| Investment in water quality |
€80 billion (since 1970) |
ICPR |
| Floodplain loss |
~85% |
ICPR 2020 |
| Microplastics per day |
191 million particles |
Mani et al. 2015, Nature |
| Microplastics per year |
~10 tonnes |
University of Basel |
| Peak sediment concentration |
11,070 particles/kg |
Mani et al. 2015 |
| Round goby colonisation |
Since 2008, dominant benthic species |
ICPR |
| Sandoz disaster fish kill |
~150,000 (1986) |
ICPR Archive |
| Projected temperature rise |
+1–3 °C by 2100 |
ICPR/Deltares |
| Salmon return programme |
Since 1987, adults detected annually |
ICPR Salmon 2020 |
Shipping & Economy
| Metric |
Value |
Source |
| Annual cargo volume |
285 million tonnes |
CCNR 2023 |
| Ships on Lower Rhine/year |
~200,000 |
GDWS |
| Port of Rotterdam throughput |
438 million tonnes (2023) |
Port of Rotterdam |
| Port of Duisburg throughput |
47 million tonnes |
Duisport |
| 2018 low water level (Kaub) |
25 cm |
BfG/Undine |
| 2018 GDP impact (Germany) |
–0.4% |
Prognos/BDB |
| Hydropower installed capacity |
~4 GW (Rhine system) |
EnBW/Axpo |
| Drinking water supply |
~30 million people |
IAWR |
Culture & Heritage
| Metric |
Value |
Source |
| UNESCO Middle Rhine castles |
40 in 65 km |
UNESCO/Zweckverband |
| UNESCO inscription year |
2002 |
UNESCO WHC |
| Loreley rock height |
132 m above waterline |
SGD Nord |
| Loreley poem (Heine) |
1824 |
Literary record |
| Nibelungenlied manuscript |
c. 1200 CE |
Manuscript C, Karlsruhe |
| Fall of Burgundian kingdom |
436 CE |
Historical consensus |
| Wagner’s Ring cycle premiere |
1876, Bayreuth |
Bayreuth Festival Archive |
| Rhine Romanticism peak |
1800–1850 |
Art historical consensus |