Since January more than 70,000 fires have been detected in Brazil's Amazon rainforest, up 84% from the number tracked in 2018, according to the country's National Institute for Space Research. This basin encompasses 7,000,000 km 2 (2,700,000 sq mi), of which 5,500,000 km 2 (2,100,000 sq mi) are covered by the rainforest. This region includes territory belonging to nine nations. Thousands of new fires have been started in the Amazon rainforest over the weekend as blazes continue to devastate huge parts of the region. Deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest, August 2019 CARL DE SOUZA/AFP/Getty Images. The Amazon rainforest covers 2,100,000 square miles, or 5,500,00km². The Amazon rainforest is burning at a record rate-- the highest on record since 2013 and an 83% increase from last year, Reuters reported. The Amazon Rainforest is home to over 1/5 of the world’s bird species. Everyone on the planet benefits from the health of the Amazon. By Danielle Garrand Updated on: August 22, 2019 / 6:09 PM / CBS News It seems that everything about the Amazon Rainforest is amazing, so be prepared for some big numbers as you read about the forest and its wildlife. Around 60% of the rainforest falls within Brazil, with the rest of the forest falling under Peru, Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. Here is a list of some particularly amazing facts about the Amazon Rainforest … How big is the Amazon rainforest? Parts of the Amazon rainforest are on fire — and smoke can be spotted from space. Why is this a big deal? The Amazon rainforest, alternatively, the Amazon Jungle, also known in English as Amazonia, is a moist broadleaf tropical rainforest in the Amazon biome that covers most of the Amazon basin of South America. The Amazon rainforest, which is often referred to as the Earth's lungs, covers an area of about 5.7 million square kilometres — that's about three quarters of the entire area of mainland Australia.