Is Russia Bigger Than the Amazon Rainforest?

Russia is the world's largest country, covering 11% of Earth's land. The Amazon rainforest is the world's largest tropical forest. Both are spoken of in superlatives. So how do they compare in size?

The Short Answer

Yes, Russia is much bigger than the Amazon rainforest. Russia covers 17.1 million km². The Amazon rainforest covers approximately 5.5 million km². Russia is roughly 3.1 times the size of the Amazon rainforest.

Side-by-Side Numbers

• Russia area: 17,098,246 km² (6,601,670 sq mi)
• Amazon rainforest area: ~5,500,000 km² (~2,124,000 sq mi)
• Difference: Russia is ~11,600,000 km² larger
• Ratio: Russia is ~3.11× the size of the Amazon
• Russia population: ~144 million
• Amazon basin population: ~30 million

Russia

Russia is the largest country in the world by area, spanning 11 time zones and stretching from the Baltic Sea in the west to the Bering Strait in the east. It covers about 11% of Earth's total land area. The country is bigger than the next two largest countries (Canada and the United States) combined. Russia is bordered by 14 countries and has coastlines on the Arctic Ocean, the Pacific Ocean, the Baltic Sea, the Black Sea, and the Caspian Sea.

Russia's vast territory is divided between two main regions: European Russia (west of the Ural Mountains, covering about 3.97 million km²) and Siberia (east of the Urals, about 13.1 million km²). About 75% of Russia's population lives in European Russia despite it being only about 23% of the territory. Moscow has 13 million people; Saint Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, and other major cities round out the population centers.

The Amazon Rainforest

The Amazon rainforest is the largest tropical rainforest in the world. It spans 9 countries: Brazil (about 60%), Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname, and French Guiana. The forest sits in the Amazon Basin, which is drained by the Amazon River — the largest river on Earth by discharge. The rainforest is estimated to contain about 390 billion individual trees representing 16,000 different species.

The Amazon is responsible for roughly 20% of the planet's oxygen production via photosynthesis (often quoted as such, though the net contribution to atmospheric oxygen is much lower because the forest also consumes oxygen via respiration and decay). It holds an estimated 76–100 billion metric tons of carbon, making its preservation critical to global climate stability. Deforestation has eliminated approximately 17% of the Amazon's original area since 1970.

Putting the Scale Difference in Context

Russia is roughly 3.11× the size of the Amazon. To put this in perspective:

• You could fit the Amazon rainforest into Russia about 3 times with room to spare.
• Russia's Siberia alone (13.1 million km²) is about 2.4 times the size of the Amazon.
• Russia is bigger than the Amazon, Australia (7.69 million km²), and Greenland (2.17 million km²) combined.
• The Amazon is bigger than every country in Europe except European Russia, and larger than every country in Africa except Algeria.

Climate and Ecosystems

The contrast between Russia and the Amazon is among the most extreme on Earth. Russia's climate is dominated by cold. Most of Siberia has subarctic to Arctic conditions, with vast areas of permafrost. The far north is true polar tundra. Even southern Russia has continental climate with cold winters. Verkhoyansk and Oymyakon in Siberia are tied as the coldest permanently inhabited places on Earth, with temperatures recorded below −67°C.

The Amazon has a tropical climate. Average temperatures stay between 25–28°C year-round. Rainfall varies from 1,500 mm to over 3,000 mm annually, with a wet season (December–May) and a slightly drier season (June–November). Humidity is consistently high, often above 80%.

Biodiversity

Both regions are enormously biodiverse but in very different ways. The Amazon hosts perhaps 10% of all known species on Earth — somewhere between 2.5 and 3 million species. About 40,000 plant species, 1,300 bird species, 3,000 fish species, 430 mammal species, and 2.5 million insect species call it home. Many remain undocumented; new species are discovered there every year.

Russia's biodiversity is impressive but spread across vast cold ecosystems. The country hosts about 270 mammal species (including the largest carnivore population on Earth — wolves, brown bears, lynx, Amur leopards), 730+ bird species, and significant marine life in its surrounding seas. Russia's taiga (boreal forest) is the largest forest ecosystem on Earth, covering about 7.7 million km² — larger than the Amazon. But the boreal forest's species diversity per square kilometer is far lower than the Amazon's.

Forests Compared

Russia and the Amazon hold the two largest forest ecosystems on Earth. Russia's taiga (boreal forest) covers about 7.7 million km² and contains roughly 25% of the world's forested land. It consists primarily of conifers — spruce, pine, larch, fir — with birch, aspen, and other broadleaf species mixed in. The Russian taiga is a critical carbon sink, though it stores much of its carbon in cold soils rather than in biomass. The Amazon, while smaller, is the world's largest tropical rainforest and contains an estimated 76–100 billion tons of stored carbon — more than the Russian taiga's above-ground biomass.

Deforestation and Climate Change

Both regions face severe environmental pressures. The Amazon has lost roughly 17% of its original forest cover since 1970 — an area roughly the size of France. Cattle ranching accounts for about 80% of cleared land, soy farming for much of the rest. Studies suggest the Amazon may be approaching a "tipping point" at 20–25% deforestation, beyond which large parts of the forest could transition to savanna due to disrupted rainfall recycling. Russia's boreal forest is also losing area, but at a slower rate (about 1.5% per decade) and primarily due to timber harvesting and wildfires. Climate change is causing increasingly severe wildfires in Siberia — the 2019 and 2021 fire seasons saw record-breaking emissions from Russian forest fires.

Indigenous Populations

Both regions have significant Indigenous populations. The Amazon is home to over 400 distinct Indigenous groups, totaling roughly 1 million people. Some — like the Yanomami, Kayapo, and Asháninka — have hundreds of thousands of members. Others remain uncontacted by outsiders; Brazil's FUNAI agency officially recognizes more than 100 isolated groups. Russia has about 40 recognized Indigenous Peoples of the North, Siberia, and Far East, totaling roughly 250,000 people. Major groups include the Sakha (Yakut), Buryats, Tuvans, Khakas, Yamal Nenets, Chukchi, and Evenks. Many face challenges from oil and gas development on traditional lands, climate change, and assimilation pressures.

Wildlife Comparison

The wildlife found in these two regions could not be more different. The Amazon hosts iconic species including jaguars, pumas, harpy eagles, giant river otters, pink river dolphins, anacondas, sloths, capybaras (the world's largest rodent), tapirs, and thousands of monkey species. Russian Siberia hosts very different but equally impressive species — the world's largest tiger (the Siberian/Amur tiger), brown bears, wolves, wolverines, Amur leopards (one of the rarest cats on Earth, with fewer than 100 individuals in the wild), reindeer, moose, sable, and the Steller's sea eagle. The Amazon's biodiversity per square kilometer is dramatically higher than Russia's, but Russia's individual species are often physically larger.

Key Facts

• Russia is about 3.11× the size of the Amazon rainforest.
• Russia is the world's largest country; the Amazon is the world's largest rainforest.
• The Russian taiga (7.7 million km²) is larger than the Amazon by area.
• Both are critical carbon sinks for global climate.
• Both face deforestation pressures, especially in recent decades.

Fun Facts

• Russia's Siberia alone is 2.4× the size of the Amazon.
• The Amazon contains roughly 20% of the world's liquid freshwater (in its river).
• Russia has about 25% of the world's forested land.
• The Amazon basin spans 9 countries; Russia spans 11 time zones.
• Both have vast Indigenous populations with deep ties to the land.
• Russia has Lake Baikal — the world's deepest and oldest freshwater lake.
• The Amazon River discharges more water than the next 7 largest rivers combined.
• Russia's permafrost stores about 1,500 gigatons of carbon — a major climate concern.
• The Amazon has been called "the lungs of the Earth" though that nickname is somewhat misleading.
• Russia's east-west extent of 9,000 km spans 11 time zones.
• The Amazon River's tide can be felt over 1,000 km upstream from the Atlantic.
• Both regions are critical to global climate science and biodiversity conservation.

The Bottom Line

Russia is dramatically larger than the Amazon rainforest — about 3.11 times larger. The two are radically different in climate, ecology, and human population, but they share importance for the planet's climate and biodiversity. Russia is the largest single country on Earth; the Amazon is Earth's largest tropical forest. Together they're among the most consequential geographic features on the planet.