Antarctica is the largest desert in the world. It may sound surprising, for people tend to only consider hot deserts filled with sand dunes and camels, but this is not always the case.
Technically, any territory with low precipitation classifies as a desert – this includes hot sandy deserts as well as polar and cold deserts.
As a matter of fact, the Antarctic and Arctic deserts are the two largest deserts on the planet.
If we only take hot deserts into consideration, then we can say that the Sahara desert is the world’s largest desert, but if we take the all deserts into consideration, including the two polar deserts, then the Sahara only ranks 3rd by size.
Whether you can consider the Sahara to be the largest desert in the world then depends on your definition of “desert”.
Scientifically, Antarctica is a desert and it is larger than the Sahara.
Below, an exhaustive list of the largest deserts on Earth by size:
Largest Deserts by Size
1. Antarctic Polar Desert
The Antarctic Polar Desert is the largest desert in the world, which covers the entire continent of Antarctica with an area of 5,405,000 mi² (14,000,000 km²).
Antarctica is a desert because it receives sparce precipitation, mostly in the form of snow, which does not melt but rather builds up forming thick layers of ice sheets.
2. Arctic Desert
The Arctic polar desert is located toward the earth’s north pole and covers a total area of approximately 13.7 million square km (5.3 million square miles), making it the second largest desert in the world.
The Arctic region consists of a number of islands, many of which are inhabited by people and animals.
Because it is not a contiguous landmass and does not have a defined area, it is sometimes overlooked despite its size.
It spans different countries and continents, including Alaska, Canada, Scandinavia, and Russia.
3. Sahara Desert
The largest hot desert on the globe, stretching horizontally across the entire African continent from the Atlantic to the Red Sea, barely interrupted by the narrow strip irrigated by the waters of the Nile, and spanning over eleven countries.
The Sahara is also the largest sand desert on Earth, and one of the hottest.
4. Great Australian Desert
Around 30% of the territory of Australia is covered by deserts, known collectively as the Great Australian desert.
The Great Australian desert covers over 2.700.000 square km (1,042,476 square miles) of territory, making it the 4th largest desert in the world.
5. Arabian Desert
The Arabian Desert is the largest desert in Asia.
It consists of a large sandy desert that covers most of the Arabian Peninsula, with an area of 2,330,000 square kilometers (900,000 sq mi).
It crosses several countries in the Middle East from Yemen to the Persian Gulf and from Oman to Jordan and Iraq, making it the largest continuous sand expanse on Earth.
6. Gobi Desert
The Gobi Desert is the 6th largest desert in the world and the largest cold desert after the two polar deserts.
Located in eastern Asia, the Gobi desert spans around 1,295,000 square km (500,002 square miles) of territory between Mongolia and China.
Read also: The Highest Sand Dunes in the World
Largest Desert FAQs
Which is the largest desert, Antarctica or the Sahara?
Antarctica is larger than the Sahara, with an area of 5,405,000 mi² (14,000,000 km²) vs 3,300,000 mi² (9,000,000 km²).
Both are considered deserts, but Antarctica is a cold polar desert, whereas the Sahara is a hot sandy desert.
Which is the smallest desert in the world?
The smallest true desert is the Dasht-e Lut in Iran, which also happens to be the hottest desert in the world. It has an area of 52,000 km² (20,077 mi²).
The Carcross desert in Yukon, Canada is known as “the smallest desert in the world” with only 2.6 km² (1 mi²) of area, but it is in fact not a true desert.
Which is the largest hot desert in the world?
The world’s largest hot desert is the Sahara desert.
It covers an area of 9,200,000 square kilometres (3,600,000 sq mi), and is the 3rd largest the desert in the planet overall, after the two polar deserts.
Which is the largest cold desert in the world?
The world’s largest cold desert is Antarctica. It spans an area of of around 5,500,000 mi² (14,200,000 km²), which is roughly the same territory of the United States and Mexico combined.
The Gobi desert is the largest non-polar cold desert on Earth with an area of 1.295 million km², spanning much of Mongolia and parts of China.
Which is the largest desert in America?
The largest desert in America is the Great Basin Desert. It covers a large part of the western United States, and has a cold winter climate.
The Great Basin Desert is surrounded by mountains, and has a variety of plants and animals.
The Great Basin Desert is a rain shadow desert, which means it is dry because the mountains block the moist air.
Which is the largest desert in Australia?
The largest desert in Australia is the Great Victoria Desert. It stretches across Western Australia and South Australia, and has a hot and dry climate.
The Great Victoria Desert has red sand dunes, salt lakes, and woodlands.
The Great Victoria Desert is a subtropical desert, which means it is hot and dry all year round.
Which is the largest desert in Asia?
The largest desert in Asia is the Arabian Desert. It covers most of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a hot and arid climate.
The Arabian Desert has sand dunes, gravel plains, rocky plateaus, and mountain ranges.
The Arabian Desert is a subtropical desert, which means it is hot and dry all year round.
The Arabian Desert is also a cultural and historical center, as it is the birthplace of Islam and has many ancient cities.
Which is the largest coastal desert?
The largest coastal desert is the Namib Desert. It runs along the Atlantic coast of Southern Africa, and has a mild and foggy climate.
The Namib Desert has sand dunes, gravel plains, canyons, and mountains.
The Namib Desert is a cool coastal desert, which means it is cool and dry because of the cold ocean current.
The Namib Desert is one of the oldest and most diverse deserts in the world, with many unique and endemic plants and animals.
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