As of 2026-04-29, Sahara tops the list with 9,200,000 km².
- #1 Sahara — 9,200,000 km²
desert on the African continent
The Sahara is a desert spanning North Africa. With an area of 9,200,000 square kilometres (3,600,000 sq mi), it is the largest hot desert in the world and the third-largest desert overall, smaller only than the deserts of Antarctica and the northern Arctic. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #2 Gobi Desert — 2,354,460 km²
desert in China and Mongolia
The Gobi Desert is a large, cold desert and grassland region in southern Mongolia and North China. It is the sixth-largest desert in the world. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #3 Arabian Desert — 2,330,000 km²
desert located in Western Asia
The Arabian Desert is a vast desert wilderness in West Asia that occupies almost the entire Arabian Peninsula with an area of 2,330,000 square kilometers (900,000 sq mi). It stretches from Yemen to the Persian Gulf and Oman to Jordan and Iraq. It is the fourth largest desert in the world and the largest in Asia. At its southern end is Ar-Rub' al-Khali , one of the largest continuous bodies of sand in the world. It is an extension of the Sahara Desert. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #4 Libyan Desert — 1,100,000 km²
northeastern part of the Sahara comprising desert areas in Egypt, Libya and Sudan
The Libyan Desert is a geographical region filling the northeastern Sahara Desert, from eastern Libya to the Western Desert of Egypt and far northwestern Sudan approximately 1,300,000 km2. On medieval maps, its use predates today's Sahara, and parts of the Libyan Desert include the Sahara's most arid and least populated regions; this is chiefly what sets the Libyan Desert apart from the greater Sahara. The consequent absence of grazing, and near absence of waterholes or wells needed to sustain... Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #5 Kalahari Desert — 930,000 km²
desert in southern Africa
The Kalahari Desert is a large semiarid sandy savanna in Southern Africa covering 900,000 km2 (350,000 sq mi), including much of Botswana, as well as parts of Namibia and South Africa. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #6 Rub' al Khali — 680,000 km²
desert
The Rub' al Khali is a desert encompassing most of the southern third of the Arabian Peninsula. The desert covers some 650,000 km2 (250,000 sq mi), including parts of Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. It is part of the larger Arabian Desert. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #7 Kazakh semi-desert — 678,871 km²
Ecoregion in Kazakhstan
The Kazakh semi-desert is an ecoregion in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, located in Kazakhstan. The climate is semi-arid and continental, with a total annual precipitation of 160 millimetres (6.3 in), and mean temperatures in January averaging −15 °C (5 °F) and in July 23 °C (73 °F). It is a transitional area between the steppes and the deserts of Central Asia and supports flora found in both biomes, predominantly grasses, particularly Stipa species, and shrubs such as... Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #8 Central Asian northern desert — 663,900 km²
Ecoregion in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan
The Central Asian northern desert is an ecoregion in the deserts and xeric shrublands biome, located in the Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The annual precipitation ranges from 100 to 150 mm, the winters are cold at −10 to −15 °C and the summers hot at around 25 °C (77 °F). There are a range of habitat types including salt flats, clay desert, rocky desert and some sand desert. The vegetation consists of scanty xeric shrubs including Artemisia and Salsola. The... Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #9 Syrian Desert — 518,000 km²
region of desert, semi-desert and steppe of the Middle East; in parts of Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia
The Syrian desert, also known as the North Arabian desert, the Jordanian steppe, the Syrian steppe, or the Badiya, or Badiyat al-Sham, is a region of desert, semi-desert, and steppe, covering about 500,000 square kilometers of West Asia, including parts of northern Saudi Arabia, eastern Jordan, southern Syria, and western Iraq. It accounts for about 85% of the land area of Jordan and 55% of Syria. To the south, it borders and merges into the Arabian Desert. The land is open, rocky or gravelly... Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata - #10 Karakum Desert — 400,000 km²
desert in Turkmenistan
The Karakum Desert, also spelt Qaraqum and Garagum, is the 12th largest desert in the world, located in Central Asia. The name refers to the shale-rich sand beneath the surface. It occupies about 70 percent, or roughly 350,000 km2 (140,000 sq mi), of Turkmenistan. Read more on Wikipedia.
Wikidata