The world’s largest tropical rainforest is the Amazon rainforest, also known as the Amazon jungle. It is located in South America, spanning an area of approximately 6.7 million square kilometers (2.7 square miles) across nine countries: Brazil, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. The Amazon rainforest is home to a staggering variety of plant and animal life, and is considered one of the most biodiverse regions on Earth. It is also an important source of oxygen for the planet, as the trees of the rainforest absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen through the process of photosynthesis.
How much larger is the Amazon rainforest compared to the world’s second biggest rainforest?
The Amazon rainforest is significantly larger than the second largest rainforest, the Congo rainforest in central Africa, which covers an area of approximately 4 million square kilometers (1.5 million square miles).
To put this in perspective, the Amazon rainforest is roughly the size of the contiguous United States, while the Congo rainforest is about the size of Alaska. The Amazon rainforest is home to an estimated 390 billion trees, representing approximately 16,000 tree species, as well as a staggering variety of plant and animal life, many of which are found nowhere else in the world. The Congo rainforest is also home to a diverse array of plant and animal life, including gorillas, chimpanzees, and elephants.