how big is the amazon rainforest compared to the united states
The Amazon rainforest is slightly smaller than the entire United States, but it’s almost as big as the “Lower 48” states put together.
Quick Scoop
- The Amazon rainforest covers about 5.5–6 million square kilometers (around 2.1–2.3 million square miles).
- The whole United States (including Alaska and Hawaii) covers about 9.6 million square kilometers (about 3.7 million square miles).
- The Amazon Basin (the wider drainage area) is about 6.9–7 million square kilometers, which makes it roughly the size of the 48 contiguous U.S. states.
Side‑by‑side size feel
Think of it like this: if you laid the Amazon Basin over a map of the continental U.S., it would stretch across nearly the whole thing from coast to coast, only missing the extra area that comes from Alaska and Hawaii.
Simple comparison table (HTML)
| Region | Approx. area (km²) | Approx. area (mi²) | How it compares |
|---|---|---|---|
| Amazon rainforest (forest cover) | ≈ 5,500,000–6,000,000 | [7][9][5]≈ 2,100,000–2,300,000 | [9][5]Bit smaller than the whole U.S., but enormous in its own right. | [5][9][1]
| Amazon Basin (wider drainage area) | ≈ 6,900,000–7,000,000 | [1][5]≈ 2,700,000 | [5][1]Roughly the same size as the 48 contiguous U.S. states. | [10][1]
| United States (including Alaska & Hawaii) | ≈ 9,629,000 | [1]≈ 3,717,000 | [1]About half again as large as the forested Amazon area. | [5][1]
Extra context and “latest news” angle
- Modern estimates still put the Amazon at about 6 million km² of forest, but this area has been shrinking due to deforestation, especially in Brazil.
- Recent reports highlight that while deforestation has slowed at times, the forest is still under pressure from logging, ranching, and agriculture, keeping the Amazon in the global spotlight as a critical climate and biodiversity issue.
Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.
