The Truthful Size Of Countries

One of the close shared maps on social media over the end 2 months has been Neil Kaye's animated map which animates countries on a Mercator projection to 'their truthful size.' The animated map is a non bad instance of the large distortions applied to countries the farther they are from the equator on Mercator maps.

Engaging Data has immediately created an interactive version of the map using Leaflet.js. Real Country Sizes Shown on Mercator Projection allows you lot to switch betwixt countries displayed using the Mercator projection in addition to their 'true size'. The animated transitions 1 time again supply a non bad instance of the distortions created past times using a Mercator projection. Conversely it besides provides an instance of why the Mercator projection is then useful for navigating around the world.

As good equally the animated map Engaging Data has examined the total of distortion applied to unlike countries when using the Mercator projection. Greenland has the largest per centum divergence betwixt its size using the Mercator projection in addition to it’s existent size. While Russian Federation is the province alongside the largest absolute divergence betwixt its 'real' size in addition to its size on a Mercator projection.