Which map projection suits you?
Every world map is a compromise: the Earth is a sphere, paper is flat. A projection decides what gets distorted – area, angles, distances or shape. No map can show everything correctly at once.
Mercator – great for navigation, poor for comparing sizes
The Mercator projection (1569) is conformal: courses can be drawn as straight lines, which made it ideal for navigation. The price: areas grow strongly towards the poles. Greenland looks about as large as Africa – in reality Africa is roughly 14 times larger.
Equal-area projections – honest proportions
On equal-area maps the relative sizes of all countries and continents are correct. - Equal Earth (2018): modern, calm continent shapes, very readable – our favourite for world maps. - Eckert IV: a classic equal-area map with rounded sides.
Compromise projections – balanced
- Robinson (1963) and Winkel tripel distort area, angles and distances a little each, but nothing extremely. They look familiar and harmonious.
Special points of view
- Spilhaus: shows the world ocean as one connected whole.
- Polar azimuthal: the world seen from the North or South Pole.
- South up or Pacific-centred: same Earth, new perspective – a great conversation piece.
Which one suits you?
- For kids' rooms, school and anyone who wants to compare sizes correctly: Equal Earth.
- For a classic, elegant look: Robinson or Winkel tripel.
- For ocean and sailing fans: Spilhaus or an ocean map.