About 6% of Earth’s land surface is covered by rainforests. That small share supports an extraordinary concentration of life, with tropical rainforests alone providing habitat for more than half of the world’s plant and animal species.
Rainforests are forests defined by abundant precipitation, but they are not all alike. Tropical rainforests cluster near the Equator, especially in the Amazon Basin, the Congo Basin, and Southeast Asia. Temperate rainforests occur in cooler coastal regions, including parts of the Pacific Northwest and southern Chile. The familiar 6% figure is most often used for tropical rainforests or rainforests collectively in educational references.
The percentage is an estimate rather than a permanent measurement. Satellite mapping methods, definitions of “forest,” and ongoing deforestation can change the calculated area. It should also not be confused with the percentage of Earth’s total surface: land excludes the oceans.
Despite covering relatively little land, rainforests influence global water and carbon cycles. Their layered canopies recycle moisture, store carbon in vegetation and soils, and create habitats ranging from the bright emergent layer to the dark forest floor.