Brazil has the world’s largest share of the Amazon rainforest, containing roughly 60 percent of the forest’s total area.
The Amazon rainforest extends across several South American countries, including Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. Brazil’s portion covers much of the Amazon Basin and includes the vast state of Amazonas.
The forest is associated with the Amazon River, whose immense drainage basin supports one of Earth’s richest concentrations of species. It contains countless plants, insects, birds, fish, and mammals, as well as hundreds of Indigenous peoples and communities.
Deforestation has been driven by cattle ranching, soy production, mining, roads, and other development. The Amazon is important to regional rainfall and carbon storage, but scientists distinguish the forest itself from the entire basin, which also includes savannas, wetlands, and other ecosystems.