World map projections
The Earth is round, so every flat world map has to distort something: shapes, areas, distances or directions. A map projection is the method used to flatten the globe, and each one makes a different trade-off. Below is the same world map in the six best-known projections, colored by continent.
World map with country names (Mercator)
The same world map in six projections
Mercator projection
A cylindrical projection from 1569 that keeps angles and local shapes true, which is why it is used for navigation and for web maps. In exchange, it greatly enlarges areas near the poles: Greenland looks as big as Africa, although Africa is about 14 times larger.
Gall-Peters projection
A cylindrical equal-area projection: every country takes up an area on the map proportional to its real size. It became popular in the 1970s as an alternative to Mercator; in exchange, it stretches the continents vertically near the equator.
Robinson projection
A compromise projection from 1963: it keeps neither areas nor shapes exactly, but spreads the distortions so that the world looks natural. It is common in school atlases and is the projection of our world map.
Equal Earth projection
An equal-area projection published in 2018 that looks similar to Robinson. It keeps the real areas, so it is a good choice for comparing the sizes of countries and continents.
Winkel tripel projection
A compromise projection that minimizes distortion of area, distance and direction at the same time. National Geographic has used it for its world maps since 1998.
Mollweide projection
An elliptical equal-area projection. It is often used for thematic maps of the whole planet, such as climate or population maps, although shapes near the edges are distorted.
Frequently asked questions
What is a map projection?
A mathematical method for drawing the curved surface of the Earth on a flat map. Every projection distorts at least one of shape, area, distance or direction.
Why does Greenland look so big on maps?
Because the Mercator projection enlarges areas close to the poles. On an equal-area projection such as Gall-Peters or Equal Earth, Greenland appears at its real size, much smaller than Africa.
Which world map projection is the most accurate?
It depends on what should be preserved: Gall-Peters, Equal Earth and Mollweide keep areas true; Mercator keeps local shapes and angles; Robinson and Winkel tripel balance all distortions.
Which projection does Google Maps use?
Web Mercator, a variant of the Mercator projection. When zoomed out, Google Maps now shows a 3D globe instead.