This is the list of the largest deserts in the world by area. It includes all deserts above {{convert|50000|km2|sqmi|sigfig=3}}.
| Rank | Name | Type | Image | Area
(km²) | Area
(sq mi) | Location | | 1 | Antarctica | Polar ice and tundra | {{formatnum:{{padleft:14000000>8|0}}}} 14,000,000 | {{formatnum:{{padleft:5400000>8|0}}}} 5,500,000 | Antarctica |
| 2 | Arctic | Polar ice and tundra | 13,985,000 | 5,400,000 | Arctic (Alaska, Canada, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Norway, Russia and Sweden) |
| 3 | Sahara | Subtropical | {{formatnum:{{padleft:12000000>8|0}}}} 9,000,000+ | {{formatnum:{{padleft:3300000>8|0}}}} 3,300,000+ | North Africa (Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Eritrea, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sudan and Tunisia) |
| 4 | Australian Desert | Subtropical | {{formatnum:{{padleft:492000>8|0}}}} 2,700,000 | {{formatnum:{{padleft:190000>8|0}}}} 1,000,000 | Australia |
| 5 | Arabian Desert | Subtropical | {{formatnum:{{padleft:2330000>8|0}}}} 2,330,000[1] | {{formatnum:{{padleft:900000>8|0}}}} 900,000 | Western Asia (Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen) |
| 6 | Gobi Desert | Cold Winter | {{formatnum:{{padleft:1300000>8|0}}}} 1,295,000 | {{formatnum:{{padleft:500000>8|0}}}} 500,000 | Central Asia (China and Mongolia) |
| 7 | Kalahari Desert | Subtropical | {{formatnum:{{padleft:900000>8|0}}}} 900,000[2] | {{formatnum:{{padleft:360000>8|0}}}} 360,000 | Southern Africa (Angola, Botswana, Namibia and South Africa) |
| 8 | Patagonian Desert | Cold Winter | {{formatnum:{{padleft:673000>8|0}}}} 620,000 | {{formatnum:{{padleft:260000>8|0}}}} 200,000 | South America (Argentina and Chile) |
| 9 | Syrian Desert | Subtropical | {{formatnum:{{padleft:520000>8|0}}}} 520,000[3] | {{formatnum:{{padleft:200000>8|0}}}} 200,000 | Western Asia (Iraq, Jordan, and Syria) |
| 10 | Great Basin | Cold Winter | {{formatnum:{{padleft:492000>8|0}}}} 492,000[3] | {{formatnum:{{padleft:190000>8|0}}}} 190,000 | United States |
| 11 | Chihuahuan Desert | Subtropical | {{formatnum:{{padleft:450000>8|0}}}} 450,000[3] | {{formatnum:{{padleft:175000>8|0}}}} 175,000 | North America (Mexico and the United States) |
| 12 | Karakum Desert | Cold Winter | {{formatnum:{{padleft:350000>8|0}}}} 350,000[3] | {{formatnum:{{padleft:135000>8|0}}}} 135,000 | Turkmenistan |
| 13 | Colorado Plateau | Cold Winter | {{formatnum:{{padleft:337000>8|0}}}} 337,000[3] | {{formatnum:{{padleft:130000>8|0}}}} 130,000 | United States |
| 14 | Sonoran Desert | Subtropical | {{formatnum:{{padleft:310000>8|0}}}} 310,000[3] | {{formatnum:{{padleft:120000>8|0}}}} 120,000 | North America (Mexico and the United States) |
| 15 | Kyzylkum Desert | Cold Winter | {{formatnum:{{padleft:300000>8|0}}}} 300,000[3] | {{formatnum:{{padleft:115000>8|0}}}} 115,000 | Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) |
| 16 | Taklamakan Desert | Cold Winter | {{formatnum:{{padleft:270000>8|0}}}} 270,000 | {{formatnum:{{padleft:105000>8|0}}}} 105,000 | China |
| 17 | Thar Desert | Subtropical | {{formatnum:{{padleft:200000>8|0}}}} 200,000[4] | {{formatnum:{{padleft:77000>8|0}}}} 77,000 | South Asia (India and Pakistan) |
| 18 | Dasht-e Margo | Subtropical | {{formatnum:{{padleft:150000|8|0}}}} 150,000 | {{formatnum:{{padleft:58000>8|0}}}} 58,000 | Afghanistan |
| 19 | Registan Desert | Subtropical | {{formatnum:{{padleft:146000|8|0}}}} 146,000 | {{formatnum:{{padleft:56400>8|0}}}} 56,400 | Afghanistan |
| 20 | Atacama Desert | Mild Coastal | {{formatnum:{{padleft:140000>8|0}}}} 140,000[3] | {{formatnum:{{padleft:54000>8|0}}}} 54,000 | South America (Chile and Peru) |
| 21 | Mojave Desert | Subtropical | {{formatnum:{{padleft:124000>8|0}}}} 124,000[5][6] | {{formtnum:{{padleft:48000|8|0}}}} 48,000 | United States |
| 22 | Columbia Basin | Cold Winter | {{formatnum:{{padleft:81000>8|0}}}} 83,100[3] | {{formatnum:{{padleft:31000>8|0}}}} 32,100 | United States |
| 23 | Namib Desert | Cool Coastal | {{formatnum:{{padleft:81000>8|0}}}} 81,000[3] | {{formatnum:{{padleft:31000>8|0}}}} 31,000 | Southern Africa (Angola and Namibia) |
| 24 | Dasht-e Kavir | Subtropical | {{formatnum:{{padleft:77000>8|0}}}} 77,000[7] | {{formatnum:{{padleft:30000>8|0}}}} 30,000 | Iran |
| 25 | Dasht-e Loot | Subtropical | {{formatnum:{{padleft:52000>8|0}}}} 52,000[7] | {{formatnum:{{padleft:20000>8|0}}}} 20,100 | Iran |
|
1. ^{{cite web|url=http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9110527/Arabian-Desert|title=Arabian Desert|accessdate=2007-12-28}}
2. ^{{cite web|url=http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/9780226471549_blad.pdf|title=Nature's Great Events:The Okavango Delta, Kalahari Desert|last=Bass|first=Karen|work=press.uchicago.edu|publisher=University of Chicago Press|date=2009-02-01|accessdate=2012-04-26}}
3. ^1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 {{cite web|url=http://geology.com/records/largest-desert.shtml|title=Largest Desert in the World|accessdate=2011-12-27}}
4. ^Thar Desert - Britannica Online Encyclopedia
5. ^{{cite web|url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2011/3077/fs2011-3077.pdf|title=Mapping Perennial Vegetation Cover in the Mojave Desert|work=pubs.usgs.gov|publisher=USGS Western Geographic Science Center|date=2011-06-01|accessdate=2012-04-08}}
6. ^{{cite web|url=http://mojave.usgs.gov/rvde/|title=Recoverability and Vulnerability of Desert Ecosystems|website=mojave.usgs.gov|publisher=USGS|date=2006-03-03|accessdate=2012-04-14|deadurl=yes|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501082256/http://mojave.usgs.gov/rvde/|archivedate=2012-05-01|df=}}
7. ^1 {{cite book |editor-first=John W. |editor-last=Wright | year=2006 | title=The New York Times Almanac | edition=2007 | publisher=Penguin Books | location=New York, New York | isbn=0-14-303820-6 | page=456}}
{{Deserts}}{{DEFAULTSORT:List Of Deserts By Area}}