Many rivers flow entirely or partially within Serbia proper, and others are just border rivers. They are dammed for the purpose of generating hydroelectric power or as water reservoirs, creating most of the lakes of Serbia.
Drainage basins
All rivers in Serbia belong to the drainage basins of three seas: Black Sea, Adriatic Sea or Aegean Sea.
The largest in area, Black Sea drainage basin, covers an area of 81,261 km2 or 92% of the territory of Serbia. The entire basin is drained by only one river, the Danube, which flows into the Black Sea. All major rivers in Serbia, like Tisa, Sava, Velika Morava and Drina belong to it.
The Adriatic Sea drainage basin covers an area of 4,500 km2 or 5% of territory of Serbia. It comprises the western half of the Kosovo and Metohija and it is mostly drained by one river, the White Drin, which in Albania meets the Black Drin to create the Drin river, which flows into the Adriatic Sea. Smaller portion of it is drained by Crni Kamen-Radika river in the extreme southern region of Gora, which also drains into Black Drin in North Macedonia.
The Aegean Sea basin is the smallest in area, 2,650 km2 or 3% of the territory of Serbia, and covers the southern parts of Serbia, to the Macedonian and Bulgarian borders. It is drained by three rivers: Lepenac, Pčinja and Dragovištica. The first two flow into the Vardar river in North Macedonia, and the third flows into the Struma river in Bulgaria, and both of those rivers flow into the Aegean Sea.
All three basins meet at the Drmanska glava peak on the Crnoljeva mountain in central Kosovo, which represents the water divide of Serbia and the major one in the Balkans, as it divides three out of the Balkan's four drainage basins (the fourth being the Ionian Sea).
List of major rivers
The lengths in the table present the overall lengths of the rivers, not just the Serbian parts of the flow. In the first table, rivers over 50 km are listed, including river systems (such as Great Morava) created by confluence of other major rivers; in those cases, the length is given as the total of the river and the longer headstream.
Selected list of shorter rivers is added below the two tables.
NameCyrillicLength (km)Drainage area (km2)Drainage basin (sea)length measured as:Main tributary (in Serbia)Provinces within SerbiaCountries sharing the same river1.DanubeДунав2888817000BlackBreg-DanubeTisaVojvodina, Central SerbiaGermany, Austria, Slovakia, Hungary, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine2.TisaТиса1026157020BlackBlack Tisa-TisaBegejVojvodinaUkraine, Romania, Hungary3.SavaСава99095719BlackSava Dolinka-SavaDrinaVojvodina, Central SerbiaSlovenia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina4.Velika Morava (Great Morava)Велика Морава49335419BlackGolijska Moravica-Zapadna Morava-Velika MoravaJužna MoravaCentral Serbianone5.DrinaДрина48719570BlackTara-DrinaLimCentral SerbiaMontenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina6.TamišТамиш35913085BlackregularBrzavaVojvodinaRomania7.DrinДрим33511756AdriaticWhite Drin-DrinKlinaKosovoAlbania8.Južna Morava (South Morava)Јужна Морава29515469BlackGolema-Binačka Morava-Južna MoravaNišavaKosovo, Central SerbiaNorth Macedonia9.IbarИбар2768059BlackregularSitnicaCentral Serbia, KosovoMontenegro10.BegejБегеј2542878BlackregularNovi BegejVojvodinaRomania11.LimЛим2205963BlackVrmoša-Luča-Lake Plav-LimUvacCentral SerbiaMontenegro, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina12.NišavaНишава2183950BlackregularTemšticaCentral SerbiaBulgaria13.TimokТимок2034630BlackSvrljiški Timok-Beli Timok-TimokCrni TimokCentral SerbiaBulgaria14.BosutБосут1863097BlackBiđ-BosutStudvaVojvodinaCroatia15.BrzavaБрзава1661190Blackregularminor flowsVojvodinaRomania16.ToplicaТоплица1302600BlackDuboka-ToplicaKosanicaCentral Serbianone17.PekПек1291236BlackLipa-PekJagnjiloCentral Serbianone18.PlazovićПлазовић129 Blackregularminor flowsVojvodinaHungary19.PčinjaПчиња1283140Aegeanregularminor flowsCentral SerbiaNorth Macedonia20.NeraНера1241420Blackregularminor flowsVojvodinaRomania21.KolubaraКолубара1233639BlackObnica-KolubaraTamnavaCentral Serbianone22.UvacУвац1191095BlackRasanska reka-Vapa-UvacTisnicaCentral SerbiaBosnia and Herzegovina23.MlavaМлава1181210BlackTisnica-MlavaVitovnicaCentral SerbiaNone24.KarašКараш1101400BlackregularIlidijaVojvodinaRomania25.Krivaja (Bačka)Криваја109956Blackregularminor flowsVojvodinanone26.ČikЧик95481BlackregularnoneVojvodinanone27.RasinaРасина92994Blackregularminor flowsCentral Serbianone28.SitnicaСитница903129BlackregularLabKosovonone29.TamnavaТамнава90930BlackregularUbCentral Serbianone30.KerešКереш90976BlackregularnoneVojvodinaHungary31.TemšticaТемштица86820BlackVisočica-TemšticaDojkinička rekaCentral SerbiaBulgaria32.JablanicaЈабланица85895BlackregularČokotinska rekaCentral Serbianone33.Crni TimokЦрни Тимок841003BlackregularZlotska rekaCentral Serbianone34.NadelaНадела84 Blackregularminor flowsVojvodinanone35.JasenicaЈасеница791343BlackregularKubršnicaCentral Serbianone36.JadarЈадар79894BlackregularRakovicaCentral Serbianone37.GružaГружа77622BlackregularKotlenjačaCentral Serbianone38.LepenacЛепенац75770AegeanregularNerodimkaKosovoNorth Macedonia39.ĐetinjaЂетиња751486BlackregularSkrapežCentral Serbianone40.VeternicaВетерница75515BlackregularSušicaCentral Serbianone41.JermaЈерма74 BlackregularZvonačka rekaCentral SerbiaBulgaria42.LabЛаб72950BlackregularKačandolska rekaKosovonone43.Rzav (Drina)Рзав72605BlackBlack Rzav-RzavWhite RzavCentral SerbiaBosnia and Herzegovina44.Pusta reka (Južna Morava)Пуста река71569BlackGolema-Pusta rekaminor flowsCentral Serbianone45.MostongaМостонга70 BlackregularnoneVojvodinanone46.RadikaРадика70665AdriaticCrni Kamen-Ćafa Kadis-Radikaminor flowsCentral SerbiaNorth Macedonia47.GalackaГалацка69843Blackregularminor flowsVojvodinanone48.VlasinaВласина681050BlackregularLužnicaCentral Serbianone49.ResavaРесава65685BlackregularnoneCentral Serbianone50.JegričkaЈегричка65 BlackregularnoneVojvodinanone51.DragovišticaДраговиштица63 AegeanMutnica-Božička reka-DragovišticaLjubatska rekaCentral SerbiaBulgaria52.Pećka Bistrica (Peć Bistrica)Пећка Бистрица62505Adriaticregularminor flowsKosovoMontenegro53.KlinaКлина62393AdriaticregularMoveKosovonone54.Rzav (Golija)Рзав61575BlackVeliki Rzav-RzavMali RzavCentral Serbianone55.StudenicaСтуденица60582BlackCrna reka-StudenicaBrusnička rekaCentral Serbianone56.RaškaРашка601193BlackregularDeževska rekaCentral Serbianone57.Sokobanjska MoravicaСокобањска Моравица58606Blackregularminor flowsCentral Serbianone58.UbУб57274Blackregularminor flowsCentral Serbianone59.LugomirЛугомир57447BlackDulenska reka-LugomirŽupanjevačka rekaCentral Serbianone60.JerezЈерез56503Blackregularminor flowsCentral Serbianone61.Jasenička rekaЈасеничка река55 BlackVrelska reka-Jasenička rekaminor flowsCentral Serbianone62.Dečanska Bistrica (Dečani Bistrica)Дечанска Бистрица53300AdriaticKožnjarska Bistrica-Dečanska BistricaKožnjarska BistricaKosovonone63.JarčinaЈарчина53 BlackMeđeš-Progarska Jarčinaminor flowsVojvodina, Central Serbianone64.BudovarБудовар52 BlackPatka-Budovarminor flowsVojvodinanone65.DrenicaДреница51447BlackregularVrbovačka rekaKosovonone66.RaljaРаља51310Blackregularminor flowsCentral Serbianone67.ErenikЕреник51516AdriaticregularLoćanska BistricaKosovonone68.Porečka rekaПоречка река50538BlackŠaška-PorečkaCrnajkaCentral Serbianone69.Trgoviški TimokТрговишки Тимок50520BlackStrma reka-Trgoviški TimokŽukovska rekaCentral Serbianone
Major sub-rivers Some rivers, historically with different names, are already included in the length of other rivers, but exist as separate rivers in topography or tradition. The most prominent ones are listed below.
NameCyrillicLength (km)Drainage area (km2)Drainage basin (sea)length measured as:Main tributaryProvinces within SerbiaIncluded in:1.Zapadna Morava (West Morava)Западна Морава30815849BlackGolijska Moravica-West MoravaIbarCentral SerbiaGreat Morava2.White DrinБели Дрим1754300AdriaticregularKlinaKosovoDrin3.Beli TimokБели Тимок1152167BlackSvrljiški Timok-White TimokTrgoviški TimokCentral SerbiaTimok4.Golijska MoravicaГолијска Моравица981486BlackregularÐetinjaCentral SerbiaWest and Great Morava5.VisočicaВисочица71 BlackregularDojkinička rekaCentral SerbiaTemštica6.Svrljiški TimokСврљишки Тимок64720Blackregularminor flowsCentral SerbiaWhite Timok and Timok
List of selected rivers below 50 km
Binačka Morava (Binač Morava), 49 km Lepenica, 48 km Skrapež, 48 km Galovica, 47 km Kalenićka reka, 45 km Pepeljuša, 45 Rača, 44 km Toponička reka, 43 km Čemernica, 43 km Kubršnica, 42 km Jezava, 47,5 km Nerodimka, 41 km Tegošnica, 41 km Zamna, 41 km Belica, 40 km Kutinska reka, 40 km Lužnica (Vlasina), 39 km Kosanica, 38 km Dobrava, 38 km Studva, 37 km Turija (Kolubara), 36 km Prizrenska Bistrica, 35 km Dičina, 35 km Kriva reka, 35 km Ljuboviđa, 34 km Zasavica, 34 km Kudoš, 34 km Kamenica (Zapadna Morava), 34 km Poblačnica-Ustibarska, 34 km Barbatovačka reka, 34 km Rupska-Kozarska reka, 34 km Peštan, 33 km Bela reka (Mačva), 33 km Resavčina, 32 km Kačer, 32 km Jovanovačka reka, 31 km Ljig, 31 km Bitva, 31 km Vizelj, 31 km Petrovačka reka, 31 km Topčiderska reka, 30 km Crnica, 30 km Miruša, 30 km Plavska reka, 30 km Likodra, 30 km Gračanica, 30 km Gradac, 30 km Konjska reka, 30 km Turija (Južna Morava), 30 km Zlotska reka, 30 km Gračanica, 30 km Trnovačka reka, 30 km Guzajna, 29 km Osanica, 29 km Vrla, 28 km Slatinska reka, 28 km Ribnica (Kolubara), 28 km Vrla, 28 km Velika-Slatinska reka, 28 km Lešnica, 28 km Veliki Begej, 27 km Resavica, 27 km Preševska Moravica, 27 km Rogačica, 27 km Vukodraž, 27 km Grza, 26 km Ravanica, 26 km Sibnica, 26 km Šelovrnac, 25 km Jošanica, 25 km Dojkinička reka, 25 km Lužnica (Skrapež), 25 km Čikas, 24 km Radovanska reka, 24 km Jablanica (Valjevo), 24 km Despotovica, 24 km Ribnica (Ibar), 23 km Crnajka, 22 km Deževka, 22 km Cernica, 22 km Vratna, 22 km Jelašnica (Južna Morava), 21 km Borovštica, 20 km Vranj, 20 km Mileševka, 20 km Bistrica-Boroštica, 20 km Sutjeska, 20 km Blatašnica, 18 km Vučjanka, 18 km Keveriš, 17 km Gradska reka, 17 km Krivaja (Syrmia), 16 km Ponjavica, 16 km Ostružnička reka, 15 km Ljukovo, 14 km Bolečica, 12 km Rakovički potok, 8,5 km Vrelo, 0,365 km Loćanska Bistrica (Loćane Bistrica) ? km Kožnjarska Bistrica (Kožnjar Bistrica) ? km Pusta reka (Vlasina) ? km Toplica (Kolubara) ? km
See also List of mountains in Serbia List of lakes in Serbia
References