Sahara Desert Countries: The 11 Nations Sharing the World's Largest Hot Desert

The Sahara spans 11 sovereign states (plus Western Sahara, a disputed territory). Here’s the breakdown by region.

Core Saharan Countries (Majority Territory in Desert)

Marginal Saharan Countries (Northern Fringe)

Disputed Territory

• Western Sahara – Claimed by Morocco; Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (Polisario) controls ~20%. Entirely desert (phosphate, fisheries).

Countries Often Mistakenly Included

• Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel – Arabian Desert (different system).
• Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia – Horn of Africa arid lands, not Sahara.
• Spain (Canary Islands) – Volcanic, subtropical; geologically African but not Sahara.

Transnational Initiatives

• Great Green Wall: 8,000 km tree belt across Sahel (11 countries) to combat desertification.
• Sahara-Sahel Observatory (OSS): Regional drought/land monitoring.
• Trans-Saharan Highway: Algiers → Lagos (4,500 km), still incomplete.

The Sahara isn’t a blank map—it’s a shared, contested, and culturally rich space across 11+ political boundaries.