World's largest deserts ranked by area, with each desert's type, total square kilometers, continent, and the countries it spans.
Rank | Desert Name | Desert Type | Area Square Kilometers | Continent | Countries |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antarctic Desert | Polar ice | 14200000 | Antarctica | Antarctica |
| 2 | Arctic Desert | Polar ice | 13900000 | Multiple | United States; Canada; Greenland; Norway; Sweden; Finland; Russia |
| 3 | Sahara Desert | Subtropical | 9200000 | Africa | Algeria; Chad; Egypt; Libya; Mali; Mauritania; Morocco; Niger; Sudan; Tunisia |
| 4 | Arabian Desert | Subtropical | 2330000 | Asia | Saudi Arabia; Iraq; Jordan; Kuwait; Oman; Qatar; United Arab Emirates; Yemen |
| 5 | Gobi Desert | Cold winter | 1295000 | Asia | China; Mongolia |
| 6 | Kalahari Desert | Subtropical | 900000 | Africa | Botswana; Namibia; South Africa |
| 7 | Patagonian Desert | Cold winter | 673000 | South America | Argentina; Chile |
| 8 | Syrian Desert | Subtropical | 500000 | Asia | Iraq; Jordan; Saudi Arabia; Syria |
| 9 | Great Basin Desert | Cold winter | 492000 | North America | United States |
| 10 | Chihuahuan Desert | Subtropical | 362000 | North America | Mexico; United States |
| 11 | Karakum Desert | Cold winter | 350000 | Asia | Turkmenistan |
| 12 | Great Victoria Desert | Subtropical | 348750 | Australia | Australia |