What is the largest desert in the world?

The Sahara Desert is correctly identified as the largest desert in the world when considering its classification as a hot desert. It spans approximately 9.2 million square kilometers (3.6 million square miles) across North Africa, making it the largest non-polar desert. Desert classification takes into account various factors, such as aridity, temperature, and geography, and the Sahara is notable for its vast expanses of sand dunes, rocky plateaus, and sparse vegetation, which all contribute to its extreme climatic conditions.

In contrast, while the Arabian Desert is large, it does not have the same expansive size as the Sahara. The Gobi Desert, located in northern China and southern Mongolia, is primarily a cold desert, which differentiates it from the hot desert category of the Sahara. The Kalahari Desert, situated in Southern Africa, is also a semi-arid region but is smaller and less arid in terms of total area when compared to the Sahara.