List of deserts by area explained

This is a list of the largest deserts in the world by area. It includes all deserts above 50000sigfig=3NaNsigfig=3.

Rank	Name	Type	Image	Area (km^2)	Area (sq mi)	Location	Nation(s)
1		Polar ice and tundra		14,200,000^[1]	5,482,651		N/A
2		Polar ice and tundra		13,900,000	5,366,820		Alaska (United States), Canada, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Jan Mayen, Norway, Russia, Svalbard, and Sweden
3	Saharan Desert	Subtropical		9,200,000	3,552,140		Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, the Niger, the Sudan, Tunisia, and Western Sahara
4		Subtropical		2,700,000	1,042,476		Australia
5		Subtropical		2,330,000^[2]	899,618		Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen
6		Cold winter		1,295,000	500,002		China and Mongolia
7		Subtropical		900,000^[3]	347,492		Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa
8		Cold winter		673,000	259,847		Argentina and Chile
9		Subtropical		500,000^[4]	193,051		Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Syria
10		Cold winter		492,098	190,000		United States
11		Subtropical		453,248	175,000		Mexico and the United States
12		Cold winter		350,000	135,136		Turkmenistan
–		Subtropical		348,750	134,653		Australia
13		Cold winter		337,000	130,191		China
14		Cold winter		336,700	130,116		United States
15		Subtropical		310,000	119,692		Mexico and the United States
16		Cold winter		300,000	115,831		Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan
17		Subtropical		256,000	98,842		Ethiopia, Somalia, and Somaliland
18	Thar Desert	Subtropical		238,254^[5]	77,220	Southern Asia	India and Pakistan
20	Puntland Desert	Subtropical		200,000	77,220	Eastern Africa	Somalia
20		Temperate		200,000	77,220		Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan
21		Subtropical		175,000	67,568		Somalia/Somaliland
22		Cool coastal		160,000	61,776		Angola, Namibia, and South Africa
23		Subtropical		150,000	57,915		Afghanistan
24		Subtropical		146,000	56,371		Afghanistan
25		Mild coastal		140,000	54,054		Chile and Peru
26		Subtropical		137,000	52,896		Djibouti, Eritrea, and Ethiopia
27		Subtropical		124,000^[6] ^[7]	47,877		United States
28		Subtropical		100,000	38,610		Kenya
29		Cold winter		83,139	32,100		Canada and the United States
30		Subtropical		77,000^[8]	29,730		Iran
31		Subtropical		70,000	27,027		Senegal
32	Ladakh Desert^[9]	Cold winter		59,146	22,836		India
33		Subtropical		52,000	20,077		Iran

See also

• Desert
• Desertification
• List of deserts by continent
• Polar desert
• Tundra
• United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

References

1. Web site: Top ten largest (non-polar) deserts. 2021-05-14. 2021-01-26. https://web.archive.org/web/20210126032610/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/world/. live.
2. Web site: Arabian Desert. 2007-12-28. 2007-12-31. https://web.archive.org/web/20071231151938/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9110527/Arabian-Desert. live.
3. Web site: Nature's Great Events:The Okavango Delta, Kalahari Desert. Bass. Karen. press.uchicago.edu. University of Chicago Press. 2009-02-01. 2012-04-26. 2012-07-10. https://web.archive.org/web/20120710073724/http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/9780226471549_blad.pdf. live.
4. Web site: Largest Desert in the World. 2021-05-14. 2007-08-17. https://web.archive.org/web/20070817025305/http://geology.com/records/largest-desert.shtml. live.
5. Web site: Thar Desert | Map, Climate, Vegetation, & Facts. Encyclopedia Britannica. 24 May 2023. 19 February 2021. 20 June 2008. https://web.archive.org/web/20080620064233/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9071941/Thar-Desert. live.
6. Web site: Mapping Perennial Vegetation Cover in the Mojave Desert. pubs.usgs.gov. USGS Western Geographic Science Center. 2011-06-01. 2012-04-08. 2013-05-09. https://web.archive.org/web/20130509082222/http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2011/3077/fs2011-3077.pdf. live.
7. Web site: Recoverability and Vulnerability of Desert Ecosystems. mojave.usgs.gov. USGS. 2006-03-03. 2012-04-14. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120501082256/http://mojave.usgs.gov/rvde/. 2012-05-01.
8. Book: John W. . Wright . 2006 . The New York Times Almanac . registration . 2007 . Penguin Books . New York, New York . 0-14-303820-6 . 456.
9. Web site: The Cold Desert – Ladakh . 2021-10-17 . 2021-10-17 . https://web.archive.org/web/20211017041453/https://www.toppr.com/guides/geography/life-in-the-deserts/the-cold-desert-ladakh/ . live .