Where clouds are a special event
8 of the Sunniest Cities in the World
Desert capitals and Mediterranean coasts that log over 3,500 hours of sunshine a year — almost double the global average.
Earth gets about 4,400 daylight hours a year. The very sunniest cities turn 80% of those into actual sunshine — meaning weeks can go by with barely a cloud in the sky.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates · pop. 4,248,200
Dubai matches Riyadh hour-for-hour — its cloud cover is almost statistical noise on the annual chart.
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia · pop. 5,188,286
Riyadh's clear desert air gives it nearly 3,500 hours of sun a year — paired with the heat to match.
Andalusia, Spain · pop. 551,480
Málaga is the sunniest large city in mainland Europe — its 'Costa del Sol' name is a literal description.
Western Australia, Australia
Perth is the sunniest large city in Australia and one of the sunniest capitals anywhere — 3,200+ hours a year.
Antofagasta, Chile · pop. 157,575
Calama sits in the Atacama Desert at 2,200 m — high, dry, and home to some of the world's cleanest astronomy skies.
Aswan, Egypt · pop. 241,261
Aswan sits at the edge of the Sahara and the Nile — among the sunniest places on Earth and historically one of the driest.
Arizona, United States · pop. 1,608,139
Phoenix logs roughly 3,870 sunshine hours a year — the sunniest large city in the United States.
Arizona, United States · pop. 95,548
Yuma, Arizona is the sunniest city on Earth by most measurements — averaging 4,015 hours of sunshine a year, or about 90% of daylight.
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For entertainment only. Rankings on this page are editorial picks compiled from public sources for fun and discovery — they aren't a scientific measurement. Population figures and place details come from open data; see the linked place pages for sources.