What is the driest inhabited continent?

Australia is the driest inhabited continent in the world. Its mainland receives relatively little rainfall overall, despite having tropical rainforests, temperate coasts, wetlands, and snow-covered mountain areas.

Australia’s interior is dominated by arid and semi-arid landscapes, including the Great Victoria, Great Sandy, Gibson, and Simpson deserts. About 70 percent of the country is classified as arid or semi-arid. Rainfall is also highly variable: a region can experience severe drought followed by intense flooding when climate patterns shift.

Several geographic factors help explain the dryness. Much of Australia lies beneath subtropical high-pressure belts, while cold ocean currents reduce moisture along parts of the western coast. The continent is also relatively flat and has no major mountain chain forcing widespread rainfall inland.

Antarctica is drier overall, but it is not permanently inhabited in the usual continental sense. That is why the question specifies “inhabited.” Africa contains enormous deserts, including the Sahara, but its average conditions are wetter than Australia’s. Australia’s average annual rainfall is roughly 450–470 millimetres.