What is the largest country in South America?
Brazil is the largest country in South America, covering about 8.5 million square kilometers, nearly half of the continent. It is also the fifth-largest country in the world.
Brazil borders every South American country except Chile and Ecuador. It contains most of the Amazon rainforest, the largest tropical rainforest on Earth, as well as the Pantanal, one of the world's biggest wetlands. Its long Atlantic coastline stretches about 7,500 kilometers.
With more than 210 million people, Brazil is also South America's most populous country. Its capital is Brasília, a planned city opened in 1960. The largest cities are São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro. Brazil is the only country in the Americas where Portuguese is the official language, because it was a Portuguese colony.
Other large countries
Argentina is the second-largest country in South America, followed by Peru, Colombia and Bolivia. The smallest independent country on the continent is Suriname. French Guiana, on the northeast coast, is not a country but an overseas region of France.
Did You Know?
Brazil has won the men's FIFA World Cup five times, more than any other nation.