Top 10 most extensive forests in the world with location, area, and brief details
Forests are essential for life on Earth. This page provides information about the ten most extensive forests on Earth, prioritizing their importance. These forests are also known as the ten Largest Forests in the world.
About 6% of the Earth’s surface is covered by forests or tropical rainforests. Similarly, more than 4 billion hectares of the world’s land surface—31 percent—is covered by the Jungle.
However, the forest area is regularly decreasing. In the past decade, forest areas have generally declined due to deforestation due to agriculture and urban expansion, despite some efforts for reforestation and conservation.
These forests play a crucial role in maintaining global ecological health. They provide habitat for countless species, act as carbon sinks, and significantly influence climate patterns, making them a cornerstone of our planet’s health.
Explaining the importance of forests, here are the top 10 most extensive forests in the world with their location, area, and brief details:
1. Amazon rainforest
- Location: South America (Brazil, Peru, Colombia, and many other countries)
- Area: About 7 million square kilometers
- Description: The Amazon Rainforest is the world’s largest tropical rainforest. It is known for its enormous biodiversity, including millions of species of plants, insects, birds, and other animals. The rainforest plays an important role in regulating the Earth’s climate and is often called the “Lungs of the Earth.”
2. Congo Basin Forest
- Location: Central Africa (Democratic Republic of the Congo, Republic of the Congo, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea)
- Area: About 3.4 million square kilometers
- Description: The Congo Basin Forest is the second-largest tropical rainforest in the world. It is rich in biodiversity and home to a variety of wildlife, including gorillas, elephants, and many bird species. It is also an important carbon sink, helping to mitigate climate change.
3. Valdivian Temperate Rainforest
- Location: Chile and Argentina
- Area: About 248,100 square kilometers
- Description: The Valdivian Temperate Rainforest is known for its high levels of rainfall and unique mix of broadleaf and coniferous tree species. It is home to many endemic species and features a thick understory of bamboo and ferns.
4. Tongass National Forest
- Location: Alaska, USA
- Area: About 68,000 square kilometers
- Description: The Tongass National Forest is the largest national forest in the United States. It is a temperate rainforest with old-growth forests and diverse wildlife, including bald eagles, bears, and salmon.
5. Daintree Rainforest
- Location: Queensland, Australia
- Area: About 1,200 square kilometers
- Description: The Daintree Rainforest is one of the oldest rainforests in the world, estimated to be around 135 million years old. It is known for its rich biodiversity, including various unique plant and animal species.
6. Sundarban Mangrove Forest
- Location: Bangladesh and India
- Area: About 10,000 square kilometers
- Description: The Sundarbans are the largest mangrove forest in the world. They are famous for their unique ecosystem and are home to the Bengal tiger, various bird species, and aquatic life.
7. Borneo Lowland Rainforest
- Location: Borneo Island (Indonesia, Malaysia, and Brunei)
- Area: About 425,000 square kilometers
- Description: The Borneo lowland rainforest is rich in biodiversity and is home to many endemic species, including the Bornean orangutan, pygmy elephant, and many plant species. It is one of the oldest rainforests in the world.
8. Taiga (boreal forest)
- Location: Northern Hemisphere (Canada, Russia, Alaska, and Scandinavia)
- Area: About 17 million square kilometers (17 % of Earth’s land surface covered)
- Description: The Taiga, also known as the Boreal Forest, is the largest terrestrial biome in the world. It consists mainly of coniferous trees such as pine, spruce, and larch. The taiga plays a vital role in carbon sequestration and supports a variety of wildlife.
9. New Guinea Rainforest
- Location: Papua New Guinea and Indonesia
- Area: About 288,000 square kilometers
- Description: The New Guinea rainforest is known for its rich biodiversity, including many endemic species of plants, birds, and insects. It is one of the Asia-Pacific region’s largest and most biodiverse rainforests.
10. Eastern Arch Mountain Forest
- Location: Tanzania and Kenya
- Area: About 23,800 square kilometers
- Description: The Eastern Arc Mountains Forests are a series of mountain ranges with unique biodiversity. These forests are home to many endemic species of plants and animals and are recognized as one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots.
Note: the serial numbers of jungles (Forests) mentioned are not ranked from any point of view.