Brazil covers a total area of 8,515,767 km² (3,287,955 sq mi), making it the 5th largest country in the world and the largest in South America — bigger than the entire contiguous United States. Only Russia, Canada, China, and the United States (counting all states) exceed it in land area. Brazil alone accounts for roughly 5.7% of all the dry land on Earth and nearly half of the South American continent.
Just How Large Is 8.5 Million km²?
Numbers this big are hard to picture, so comparisons help. Brazil is larger than the lower 48 US states combined, and you could fit the entire United Kingdom (243,610 km²) inside it about 34 times. It is more than twice the size of the European Union and roughly 100 times the size of Portugal, its former colonial ruler.
This single country sweeps across the equator and reaches deep into the Southern Hemisphere. It spans about 4,395 km from its northern tip to its southern border and around 4,319 km from east to west — distances comparable to crossing the continental United States. To learn more about the nation behind these figures, see our brazil country guide.
The Land: From Rainforest to Highlands
Brazil's enormous footprint is filled with strikingly different landscapes. The vast Amazon Basin dominates the north, blanketed in the world's largest tropical rainforest. Roughly 60% of the entire Amazon lies within Brazilian borders, and that portion alone is larger than the whole of India.
Further south, the Brazilian Highlands and the Cerrado — a sprawling tropical savanna — cover the central plateau, while the Pantanal, the planet's biggest tropical wetland, stretches across the southwest. The country's highest point, Pico da Neblina, rises to 2,994 m (9,823 ft) near the Venezuelan frontier. Despite its mountains and plateaus, much of Brazil sits at relatively modest elevations.
A Coastline and Borders to Match
Brazil's Atlantic coastline runs an astonishing 7,491 km, longer than the distance from New York to Los Angeles. This shoreline is dotted with famous beaches, river deltas, and major port cities. Inland, Brazil's size means it borders almost every other country on the continent.
- Brazil shares land borders with every South American nation except Chile and Ecuador.
- It touches Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana.
- Its combined land borders stretch over 16,000 km.
Because the country is so wide, it officially spans multiple time zones, meaning the sun can be high over the eastern coast while it is still early morning in the western Amazon.
Why Brazil's Size Matters
Sheer scale gives Brazil extraordinary natural wealth. The country is thought to hold somewhere between 15% and 20% of all the world's known plant and animal species, making it one of the most biodiverse nations on Earth. The Amazon River, which crosses the north, discharges more water than the next several largest rivers combined.
That size also shapes climate. Brazil is mostly tropical, with steamy equatorial conditions in the Amazon, a semi-arid interior in the northeastern Sertão, and a cooler subtropical zone in the far south. The Amazon region receives well over 2,000 mm of rainfall a year, while parts of the northeast can go months without significant rain. Few countries contain such climatic variety within a single border.
Quick Size Facts
- Total area: 8,515,767 km² (3,287,955 sq mi)
- World rank: 5th largest country
- Share of Earth's land: about 5.7%
- Continent: South America (largest country on it)
- Capital: Brasília
- Coastline: 7,491 km
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Brazil bigger than the United States?
Brazil is larger than the contiguous (lower 48) United States, but the full United States — including Alaska and Hawaii — is slightly larger overall, which places the US 4th and Brazil 5th in world rankings.
What is the largest country in South America?
Brazil is by far the largest country in South America, covering roughly 47% of the continent's total land area. The next largest, Argentina, is less than a third of Brazil's size.
How does Brazil compare to Europe?
Brazil is more than twice the size of the European Union as a whole. You could fit virtually all of Western Europe within its borders and still have room to spare.
How big is the Amazon part of Brazil?
The Brazilian portion of the Amazon rainforest — about 60% of the entire forest — is larger than the whole country of India, giving you a sense of just how vast a single region of Brazil can be.