Amazonas: The World's Largest Rainforest State

May 1

There is nothing else like Amazonas on Earth.

With 1,559,161 km², it is:

Larger than Mongolia, Peru or Angola
The largest state in Brazil and the largest subnational rainforest jurisdiction in the world
Home to over 1.5 million km² of Amazon rainforest
A critical buffer against climate collapse, and a testing ground for bioeconomy, conservation finance, and indigenous governance

This is not just a place, it’s a climatic and biological system on a planetary scale.

🌳 Scale and Significance

Contains 22% of Brazil’s territory
Hosts the Amazon River, the Rio Negro, and the Meeting of Waters
Houses the largest protected area system in the tropics
Encompasses vast indigenous territories, traditional communities, and scientific reserves
Site of the INPA, SUFRAMA, and Brazil’s leading climate and biodiversity research institutions

Region Area (km²)

Amazonas (BR) 1,559,161

Mongolia 1,564,116

Peru 1,285,216

Angola 1,246,700

Greenland 2,166,086

Access is mostly via air or river, no direct roads to many municipalities
Economy based on Manaus Free Trade Zone, extractive reserves, and traditional knowledge
Crucial for carbon markets, biodiversity credits, and conservation-linked finance
Challenged by illegal mining, deforestation, and lack of infrastructure
Focus of global climate diplomacy and ESG funding

Amazonas is the ultimate expression of Brazil’s continental paradox:
It’s massive, vital, underdeveloped, and central to the planet’s future.

No investor, policymaker, or strategist can afford to ignore it.

At Latitude3, we end this series where the world begins again in the forest, at scale.

📌 Last post in the series Continental Brazil