The Amazon rainforest spans nine countries and territories in South America.
Its range includes Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana, which is an overseas region of France. Brazil contains the largest share of the forest, followed by Peru and Colombia, while the remaining areas are distributed across the other six parts of the Amazon region.
The Amazon rainforest is closely associated with the Amazon basin, but the two are not identical. The basin is a much larger drainage area defined by rivers and watersheds, whereas the rainforest refers to the forested ecosystems within that broader region. This distinction explains why figures can vary slightly between sources.
The Amazon is the world’s largest tropical rainforest and contains extraordinary biological diversity. It also supports hundreds of Indigenous peoples and millions of other residents across several national political systems. The Amazon River and its tributaries create vast areas of seasonally flooded forest, including várzea and igapó habitats.
A common confusion is answering eight because French Guiana is not an independent country. Trivia references traditionally count the nine national jurisdictions represented in the rainforest, including France through French Guiana.