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Countries with the most number of vascular plant species
Total number of vascular plant species, by country
Brazil
56215
Colombia
51220
China
32200
Indonesia
29375
Mexico
26071
South Africa
23420
Venezuela
21073
United States
19473
Ecuador
19362
India
18664
Bolivia
17367
Peru
17144
Australia
15638
Malaysia
15500
Costa Rica
12119
Thailand
11625
Papua New Guinea
11544
Russian Fed
11400
Congo, Dem Rep
11007
Viet Nam
10500
Tanzania
10008
Panama
9915
Madagascar
9505
Argentina
9372
Philippines
8931
Guatemala
8681
Turkey
8650
Laos
8286
Cameroon
8260
Iran
8000
Paraguay
7851
Nicaragua
7590
Myanmar
7000
Nepal
6973
Gabon
6651
Ethiopia
6603
Cuba
6522
Kenya
6506
Guyana
6409
Congo
6000
Kazakhstan
6000
Brunei Darussalam
6000
Mozambique
5692
Honduras
5680
Dominican Rep
5657
French Guiana
5625
Italy
5599
Japan
5565
Bhutan
5468
Chile
5284
Haiti
5242
Angola
5185
Ukraine
5100
Spain
5050
Portugal
5050
Suriname
5018
Bangladesh
5000
Tajikistan
5000
Greece
4992
Pakistan
4950
Source: World Conservation Monitoring Centre of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP-WCMC), 2004. Species Data (unpublished, September 2004).
"Rainforest" is used interchangeably with "rain forest" on this site. "Jungle" is generally not used.
Recent news
Beef consumption fuels rainforest destruction (02/16/2009)
Nearly 80 percent of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon results from cattle ranching, according to a new report by Greenpeace. The finding confirms what Amazon researchers have long known – that Brazil's rise to become the world's largest exporter of beef has come at the expense of Earth's biggest rainforest.
How to save the Amazon rainforest (01/04/2009)
Environmentalists have long voiced concern over the vanishing Amazon rainforest, but they haven't been particularly effective at slowing forest loss. In fact, despite the hundreds of millions of dollars in donor funds that have flowed into the region since 2000 and the establishment of more than 100 million hectares of protected areas since 2002, average annual deforestation rates have increased since the 1990s, peaking at 73,785 square kilometers (28,488 square miles) of forest loss between 2002 and 2004. With land prices fast appreciating, cattle ranching and industrial soy farms expanding, and billions of dollars' worth of new infrastructure projects in the works, development pressure on the Amazon is expected to accelerate. Given these trends, it is apparent that conservation efforts alone will not determine the fate of the Amazon or other rainforests. Some argue that market measures, which value forests for the ecosystem services they provide as well as reward developers for environmental performance, will be the key to saving the Amazon from large-scale destruction. In the end it may be the very markets currently driving deforestation that save forests.
Amazon rainforest damage surges 67% in 2008 (12/20/2008)
The area of rainforest in the process of being deforested — razed but not yet cleared — surged in the Brazilian Amazon during 2008, according to new figures released by Brazil's National Institute for Space Research (INPE). The announcement comes shortly after the Brazilian government reported a 4 percent increase in forest clearing for the year. Using an advanced satellite system that tracks changes in vegetation cover INPE found that 24,932 square kilometers of Amazon forest was damaged between August 2007 and July 2008, an increase of 10,017 square kilometers -- 67 percent -- over the prior year.
Cutting deforestation can fight climate change, reduce poverty and conflict (09/24/2008)
Forest conservation can play a critical role in efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and alleviate poverty, said a prominent group of politicians, development experts, and environmental NGOs meeting in New York City to discuss U.S. climate policy.
Future threats to the Amazon rainforest (07/31/2008)
Between June 2000 and June 2008, more than 150,000 square kilometers of rainforest were cleared in the Brazilian Amazon. While deforestation rates have slowed since 2004, forest loss is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. This is a look at past, current and potential future drivers of deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon.
