What is the largest rainforest in the world?

The Amazon is the world’s largest tropical rainforest, covering about 5.5 million km² (2.1 million square miles) of South America. It spreads across nine countries, with about 60% in Brazil. It holds an estimated 10% of all known species on Earth.

Largest Rainforest in the World: The Amazon Explained

Amazon in numbers


Forest area	~5.5 million km²
Countries	Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana (France)
Trees	An estimated 390 billion of about 16,000 species
Indigenous peoples	Hundreds of groups, including some with no regular outside contact

The Amazon River

The Amazon River carries more water than any other river, about 20% of all the fresh water that rivers pour into the world’s oceans. It’s around 6,400 km long, close to the Nile. Its mouth is so wide that it has an island, Marajó, about the size of Switzerland.

Amazing wildlife

Jaguars, the top predators; see why jaguars have spots
Pink river dolphins (botos)
Anacondas, among the heaviest snakes
Poison dart frogs, macaws and toucans
Piranhas and the giant arapaima fish

Why it matters

It stores huge amounts of carbon, helping slow climate change.
Its trees release water vapor that forms “flying rivers” of moisture, bringing rain to farms across South America; see what transpiration is.
Many medicines and foods, such as cacao and Brazil nuts, come from the region.

Threats

The biggest threats are deforestation for cattle ranching, soy farming, logging and mining, plus fires and droughts. Scientists warn that if too much forest is lost, parts of the Amazon could reach a tipping point, turning into drier savanna. Deforestation rates have risen and fallen with changes in government policies.

Other large rainforests

Rainforest	Region
Amazon	South America
Congo Basin	Central Africa (second largest)
New Guinea	Papua New Guinea and Indonesia

For more on protecting nature, read why biodiversity is important.