While Antarctica contains the area with the lowest average precipitation worldwide, the individual country with the lowest average annual precipitation is Chile. The city of Arica in Chile has the lowest average rainfall of any city worldwide at just 0.03 inch per year.
Arica is surrounded by the Atacama Desert, some parts of which have not received rainfall in more than 500 years. The Atacama is surrounded by the Andes Mountains and the Chilean Coast Range. These mountain ranges block moisture and rain clouds from reaching the desert. Chile is still wetter then the Dry Valleys in Antarctica, where average annual precipitation is 0 inches per year.
