Citeable ranking
Largest Deserts and Salt Flats in the World
Compare major deserts and salt flats by area with country and coordinate context.
| Rank | Name | Country | Region | Area | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antarctic Desert Antarctica is considered a polar desert because of its very low precipitation. | Antarctica | Antarctica | About 14 million sq km | Open |
| 2 | Sahara The Sahara is the largest hot desert in the world. | North Africa | North Africa | About 9.2 million sq km | Open |
| 3 | Arabian Desert The Arabian Desert covers much of the Arabian Peninsula. | Saudi Arabia and Arabian Peninsula | Middle East | About 2.3 million sq km | Open |
| 4 | Gobi The Gobi is a large cold desert spanning Mongolia and northern China. | Mongolia and China | East Asia | About 1.3 million sq km | Open |
| 5 | Kalahari The Kalahari is a large semi-arid sandy region in southern Africa. | Botswana, Namibia and South Africa | Southern Africa | About 900,000 sq km | Open |
| 6 | Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert in northern Chile is known for extreme aridity and high-altitude landscapes. | Chile | South America | About 105,000 sq km | Open |
| 7 | Namib Desert The Namib Desert is a coastal desert along the Atlantic side of southern Africa. | Namibia | Southwestern Africa | About 81,000 sq km | Open |
| 8 | Salar de Uyuni Salar de Uyuni is the world's largest salt flat and one of Bolivia's most recognizable landscapes. | Bolivia | Altiplano | About 10,582 sq km | Open |