Brazil contains the world’s largest area of tropical rainforest in the Amazon Basin.
The Amazon rainforest covers much of northern South America and extends across several countries, including Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. Brazil contains the largest share of the forest and the Amazon River basin by area.
The forest is extraordinarily biodiverse, with millions of estimated species, including plants, insects, fish, birds, reptiles, and mammals. It also supports many Indigenous peoples and local communities whose languages, economies, and cultural traditions are closely connected to the forest.
The Amazon is sometimes called the “lungs of the Earth,” but that phrase can be misleading. Through photosynthesis, the forest produces oxygen, yet much of that oxygen is consumed by organisms and decomposition within the ecosystem. The Amazon’s importance is better described through its biodiversity, carbon storage, rainfall recycling, and influence on regional climate.