Which continent is the world’s largest desert, Antarctica or the Sahara?

Antarctica is the world’s largest desert because it receives very little precipitation despite being covered in ice.

A desert is defined by dryness, not by heat or sand. Antarctica’s interior typically receives less than 50 millimetres of precipitation equivalent per year, making it an extremely cold desert. Most of its water is locked in ancient ice rather than falling as rain.

The Sahara is the world’s largest hot desert, but it is smaller than the Antarctic desert when polar deserts are included. Antarctica is also the coldest, windiest, and driest continent.

The Antarctic Ice Sheet covers nearly the entire continent and contains roughly 90% of Earth’s fresh water by volume. Its apparent contradiction—an enormous frozen surface in the driest climate—is why desert classifications can surprise readers.