True Size Map Projection

This clever map shows the true size of countries maps are hugely important tools in our everyday life, whether it’s guiding our journeys from point a to b, or shaping our big picture perceptions about geopolitics and the environment. Map found via reddit, click for larger version while it’s well known that the mercator projection distorts the world, the maps here show very clearly by how much. It lets you visualize how big countries really are, rather than how big they appear when distorted on a map.

It’s just not that simple laying out a globe on a flat piece of paper as in the mercator map that we are all so familiar with. Though there are around 40 types of map projections, from conical to polyhedral and retroazimuthal, depicting the true size maps, this one is still used the most because of its convenience and simplicity. The map above shows the distortion in sizes of countries due to the mercator projection.

Some projections preserve distance or true direction, some maintain correct shapes, and others preserve the property of areal size.

It lets you visualize how big countries really are, rather than how big they appear when distorted on a map. Some projections preserve distance or true direction, some maintain correct shapes, and others preserve the property of areal size. In reality, africa is 14 times larger. The true size of website provides visual information about how the sizes of countries closer to poles get exaggerated in a mercator projection.