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• Location: 
Eastern South America, bordering the Atlantic Ocean 
 
• Map references: 
South America 
 
• Area: 
 
total area: 
8,511,965 sq km 
 
land area: 
8,456,510 sq km 
 
comparative area: 
slightly smaller than the US 
 
note: 
includes Arquipelago de Fernando de Noronha, Atol das Rocas, Ilha da Trindade, Ilhas Martin Vaz, and Penedos de Sao Pedro e Sao Paulo 
 
• Land boundaries: 
total 14,691 km, Argentina 1,224 km, Bolivia 3,400 km, Colombia 1,643 km, French Guiana 673 km, Guyana 1,119 km, Paraguay 1,290 km, Peru 1,560 km, Suriname 597 km, Uruguay 985 km, Venezuela 2,200 km 
 
• Coastline: 
7,491 km 
 
• Maritime claims: 
 
contiguous zone: 
24 nm 
 
continental shelf: 
200 nm 
 
exclusive economic zone: 
200 nm 
 
territorial sea: 
12 nm 
 
• International disputes: 
short section of the boundary with Paraguay, just west of Salto das Sete Quedas (Guaira Falls) on the Rio Parana, is in dispute; two short sections of boundary with Uruguay are in dispute - Arroio Invernada (Arroyo de la Invernada) area of the Rio Quarai (Rio Cuareim) and the islands at the confluence of the Rio Quarai and the Uruguay River 
 
• Climate: 
mostly tropical, but temperate in south 
 
• Terrain: 
mostly flat to rolling lowlands in north; some plains, hills, mountains, and narrow coastal belt 
 
• Natural resources: 
bauxite, gold, iron ore, manganese, nickel, phosphates, platinum, tin, uranium, petroleum, hydropower, timber 
 
• Land use: 
 
arable land: 
7% 
 
permanent crops: 
1% 
 
meadows and pastures: 
19% 
 
forest and woodland: 
67% 
 
other: 
6% 
 
• Irrigated land: 
27,000 sq km  
 
• Environment: 
 
current issues: 
deforestation in Amazon Basin destroys the habitat and endangers the existence of a multitude of plant and animal species indigenous to the area; air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo, and several other large cities; land degradation and water pollution caused by improper mining activities 
 
natural hazards: 
recurring droughts in northeast; floods and occasional frost in south 
 
international agreements: 
party to - Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Wetlands, Whaling; signed, but not ratified - Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Desertification 
 
• Note: 
largest country in South America; shares common boundaries with every South American country except Chile and Ecuador