Which forest is the largest tropical rainforest in the world by area?

The Amazon rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest in the world by area.

The Amazon extends across much of the Amazon Basin in South America, covering parts of Brazil, Peru, Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. About 60 percent of the forest lies in Brazil. It is associated with the Amazon River and its enormous network of tributaries, although the forest and the river are not identical geographical features.

The Amazon is exceptionally rich in species, including jaguars, sloths, river dolphins, and thousands of plant species. It is often called the “lungs of the Earth,” but that phrase can mislead: the forest produces oxygen through photosynthesis while also consuming oxygen as organisms respire and dead matter decomposes. The Congo rainforest is the world’s second-largest tropical rainforest, not the largest.