Get Premium
Dark mode theme is available exclusively for premium users. Learn more about the benefits of subscribing.
No fees, cancel anytime.
Dark Mode 
No fees, cancel anytime 
When most of us think about the word “data'' our eyes glaze over as a million Excel cells appear in our minds, putting us to sleep. So clever folks out there rolled up their sleeves and got to work, making visual depictions of data that help us better understand the world.
This online group shares various cool and interesting maps that help put all sorts of facts and figures into context. So get comfortable, prepare to brush up on some geography, and get to scrolling. Be sure to upvote your favorite posts and share your thoughts and observations in the comments section below.
This post may include affiliate links.
#1
Good Political Maps Of Oceania Are Hard To Come By
Tucker Cahooter 1 year ago
Kiwis breathe a sigh of relief that they are not being overlooked for a change
RELATED:
#2
The Literal Meaning Of Every Country's Name In Africa
#3
Endings Of Places In Poland
Bernd Herbert 1 year ago
This is the result of an old dialectal boundary. and another fun fact: In Northeastern Germany you will find lots of places that end in -ow, showing that the old Slawic Tribes were living in that area, way before any of today's national borders.
If you have ever taken a casual look at an average map of the world, you have no doubt been struck by the sheer size of Russia and, to a lesser extent, Canada. This does make sense, as these are the largest countries on the planet, however, did you know that a little feature of mapmaking called Mercator projection makes them look significantly larger than they really are?
This comes from the Flemish geographer and cartographer Gerardus Mercator, who created a “cylindrical” map to represent the world in 1569. After all, unless you are looking at a globe, most maps are drawn, painted, or printed on a rectangular surface. Imagine the tube-like maps pirates are always dragging around and you have a pretty good depiction of an early Mercator map.
#4
Average Color Of US State Based On Satellite Imaging
#5
What’s The Most Popular Sport In Each Country?
WindySwede 1 year ago
Correct usage of football ⚽️ /s ☺️ not that I care about sports, just find the wordusage peculiar..
#6
Time Needed To Earn 1€ Million Earning On Average Wage
After all, the real landmasses on the planet, which are spherical, don’t translate 1-to-1 on a rectangular map. Certain sections end up stretched and, as a result, appear to be a lot larger than they actually are. Mercator chose to “focus” the map on the northern hemisphere, where locations closer to the “top” of the map would end up seeming larger. Hence Russia and Canada being absolutely gigantic on so many maps.
#7
Population Density In China
#8
How Many % Of People Would Not Want To Live Next Door To Lgbt People?
#9
World Map According To China In 1799
In fact, at the time, these maps were specifically created to aid in marine navigation. While it’s quite irrelevant to us, early seafarers could use a Mercator map to get a “straight” bearing when sailing to a new location. On a map that doesn’t use Mercator projection, the bearing would be a curve, representing the curve of the globe.
#10
U.S. States That Have Banned The Most Books (In Autumn 2022)
WindySwede 1 year ago
At least it started backfiring in Utah, banning the bible from schools. For content of murder, violence, sexual things etc.
#11
Percentage Of Population (25-64yrs) In Europe That Cant Speak Any Foreign Language
TotallyNOTAFox 1 year ago
English is mandatory here in Germany, additionally there are usually choices for french and spanish on top
#12
Europe’s National Animals
WindySwede 1 year ago
That's not right, we have the moos (Alces alces). Not the red deer (Cervus elaphus)
Chewie Baron 1 year ago
I like Latvia having the Pied Wagtail as their national animal. One of my favourite birds to watch.
Succulent 🇺🇦 1 year ago
I am almost certain that Ukraine's national animal is the common nightngale, not bears.
Daft Mosquito 1 year ago
Might agree with you, though it's the first time I hear Ukraine has a "national animal," whatever that might mean. Definitely not a bear. The Ukrainian language though is often poetically referred to as "nightingale's language."
Load More Replies...
Mila Preradović 1 year ago
Can't tell if this is beech or pine marten but it is most certainly NOT my country's national animal. Our currency was named after it, true dat, but we don't use it anymore.
Chewie Baron 1 year ago
Also, Belgium, Netherlands and Bulgaria, amongst others have the lion as their national animal. Where’s the jokes about them?
Load More Replies...
Kevin the Manager 1 year ago
I could have SWORN that Portugal's National Animal was the TurDuckEn...
ADHORTATOR 1 year ago
that's the famous french rooster, a symbol already used by the Celts. In France there is a saying "Why is the rooster our symbol? Because he is noisy/has a big mouth while he is standing with his feet on the dungheap/Sh*t"
Load More Replies...
This sort of map has simply stuck around for hundreds of years, leading many people to draw somewhat incorrect conclusions about the real size of things. We are lucky that Russia and Canada really are the two largest countries, so the distortions don’t seem as bad. Other examples of distortion are the similarity between the UK and Madagascar, despite the latter being nearly twice as large.
#13
Belief In Life After Death In Europe
#14
Average Money Spent On Weddings In US States
Bernd Herbert 1 year ago (edited)
This is absolutely wild. Looking at California....this is more than I spent in the last 10 years for various vacations. I'm from Germany, and those vacations included USA & Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, the Seychelles, Mauritius and countless trips within Europe. (Yes, I'm counting my expenses.) I would never ever exchange these experiences with a one-time party. Absolutely absurd!
#15
Roman Coin Hoards, From The 'Coinage In The Roman Empire' Project — 'Hoards Containing Coinage In Use In The Roman Empire Between 30 B.c. And A.d. 400.'
Even more comically, due to its northerly position, Alaska appears to be roughly the size of Australia, despite the fact that the land down under is almost five times larger. You can find an excellent gif depicting the presented and real size of various nations here.
#16
When Is Weekend
#17
Asia's Counting System. How Do You Say The Number 57
TotallyNOTAFox 1 year ago (edited)
Blue and yellow are reasonable, the rest seems overly complicated. Edit: Orange, not yellow ^^
#18
Unemployment Rates In Italian Provinces
#19
Male Body Hair Distribution Of Indigenous Human Populations Around The World
#20
Sex Ratio
Tracy Wallick 1 year ago
And yet, men are treated as the default despite being a smaller percent of the population in the majority of countries.
#21
Percentage Of Light vs. Brown Hair In European Countries
#22
Most Wasteful Countries In The World
#23
Dog Owning States vs. Cat Owning States
#24
Air Polution In Europe
Monstarr the Divisive 1 year ago
Whoa... What's happening in nort Italy, Poland and around the Balkans? Why is it so bad there?
#25
US States By Violent Crime Rate
Mis Stake she/her 🇫🇮🇬🇧 1 year ago
Would be interesting to know how this compares to other parts of the world too
#26
The Countries With The Most Island
BoredPossum 1 year ago
The islands in Sweden are very very small but numerous. That's why they don't show up on most maps.
#27
The Most Consumed Type Of Meat By Country Including Fish & Seafood
WindySwede 1 year ago
Nope, according to 'The Swedish Board of Agriculture', it's poultry meat (when not including sausages, ham and kassler). When you include them (and assuming they are 100% pork meat, pork is #1 by approximately 3,5x compared to fish.
#28
The Most And Least Happy Countries In The World
#29
Projection Of Water Stress Level By Country In 2040
Add New Image
What do you think ?
martymcmatrix 1 year ago
When I joined bp, I struggled in comprehending what I was looking at relating to these kind of maps...but when I finally got a 💡 inside my brain, I instantly fell in love with 'em...🗺️🌏🌎🌍🗺️
Sophie 1 year ago
If you want more stuff like this I believe Visual Capitalist does a lot of them.
Load More Replies...
martymcmatrix 1 year ago
When I joined bp, I struggled in comprehending what I was looking at relating to these kind of maps...but when I finally got a 💡 inside my brain, I instantly fell in love with 'em...🗺️🌏🌎🌍🗺️
Sophie 1 year ago
If you want more stuff like this I believe Visual Capitalist does a lot of them.
Load More Replies... You May Like 50 Interesting And Intriguing Facts From The “Today I Learned” Community “The Brain Eats Itself From Lack Of Sleep”: 50 Interesting Facts And Stories 40 Facts About Animals That Might Make You Look Like The Smartest Person In The Room
Shelly Fourer
Gabija Palšytė
Ilona Baliūnaitė
Related on Bored Panda
