Interactive Demo

These two look about the same size. They're not.

Switch projections and drag countries around the map to see how projections distort the world.

This is what most wall maps look like.
Greenland appears to be the same size as Africa. Try Equal Earth to see reality, or drag a country to explore.
1.0x
Area inflation at current position
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Distortion vs. home position
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Current latitude
Grab the highlighted shape and drag it across the map

On a Mercator map, objects near the equator appear at roughly their true size. As you drag toward the poles, the same shape inflates dramatically — Greenland appears as large as Africa, even though Africa is 14 times bigger in reality.

Switch to Patterson and notice less distortion. Switch to Equal Earth and every country stays at its true size no matter where it sits.

This is why we use the Patterson projection for our wall maps — it's the balance between accuracy and aesthetics.

Learn more about our map projections →