Largest desert

A “desert” is simply an area that has no or very little rainfall. By this definition, the largest desert is the Antarctic Ice Sheet, which covers around 98% of the continent of Antarctica, which is 14 million square kilometres (5.4 million square miles). The interior of the continent can experience as little as 50 millimetres (2 inches) of precipitation (water equivalent) per year.

The Sahara in north Africa covers 9.1 million square kilometres (3.5 million square miles) and is the largest hot desert, and the largest desert excluding polar regions. By comparison, it receives 100–250 millimetres (4–10 inches) precipitation per annum on average.