The Amazon rainforest covers about 6 million square kilometers (2.3 million square miles), making it the largest tropical rainforest on Earth

. It spans most of the Amazon basin in South America, which itself is roughly 7 million square kilometers (2.7 million square miles) in total area

. The forest stretches from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Andes Mountains in the west, widening from a 200-mile (320 km) front along the Atlantic to about 1,200 miles (1,900 km) wide at the Andean foothills

. The majority of the Amazon rainforest-approximately 60%-is located in Brazil, with significant portions also in Peru (13%) and Colombia (10%), and smaller parts in Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana

. In summary:

• Approximate size: 6 million km² (2.3 million sq mi) of rainforest within a 7 million km² basin
• Geographic span: From Atlantic Ocean to Andes Mountains, 320 km to 1,900 km wide
• Countries involved: Nine South American nations, predominantly Brazil (60%)
• Largest rainforest on Earth and home to immense biodiversity