Gall-Peters vs Equal Earth: what's the difference?
Both projections are equal-area, so on both Greenland covers 7.1% of Africa's area, the same as in reality. They differ in what they give up for true areas. Gall-Peters strongly stretches countries near the equator, while Equal Earth spreads the distortion more gently and has rounded sides.
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| Feature | Gall-Peters | Equal Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Basics | ||
| Distortion class | Equal-area | Equal-area |
| Graticule type | Cylindrical | Pseudocylindrical |
| Creator | James Gall / Arno Peters | B. Šavrič, T. Patterson, B. Jenny |
| Year | 1855 / 1973 | 2018 |
| What it looks like | A rectangular map on which countries near the equator are strongly stretched vertically and areas near the poles are flattened. | Parallels are straight lines, the poles are flat lines, and the sides of the map are gently rounded, much like Robinson. |
| Distortion | ||
| Area | Preserved | Preserved |
| Shape | Distorted | Distorted |
| Distances | Distorted | Distorted |
| Angles and directions | Distorted | Distorted |
| Continuity | Preserved | Preserved |
| By the numbers | ||
| Greenland on the map, as a share of Africa | 7.1%True proportion | 7.1%True proportion |
| Average angular distortion over land | 37° | 32° |
| Practical traits | ||
| Map outline | Rectangle | Rectangle with rounded sides |
| Rhumb lines (constant bearing) drawn straight | No | No |
| Great circles (shortest routes) drawn straight | No | No |
| A pole at the centre of the map | No | No |
| Where the map is cut | Nowhere, the map is continuous | Nowhere, the map is continuous |
| All oceans in one piece | No | No |
| Use | ||
| Typical uses | Education, humanitarian agencies (like UNESCO), and publications advocating for geographic equality of developing nations. Esri's documentation advises against cylindrical equal-area projections for whole-world maps, because they badly distort shapes near the poles. | Scientific publications, school textbooks, and global thematic maps that need to represent datasets relative to actual land area. |
| First choice for | None of the jobs we describe | |
| A good alternative for | ||
| Not recommended for | ||
The “By the numbers” rows are measured when the site is built, on the same maps the lab draws, over a grid of points every half degree (every 2° for all land). The true areas of Greenland and Africa come from our country and continent profiles.
The key differences
- What they share: both are equal-area. Every country covers a share of the map proportional to its real area, so Greenland is 7.1% of Africa's area on both.
- Outline: Gall-Peters is a rectangle, like Mercator. Equal Earth has straight parallels, flat poles and rounded sides, which makes it look more like a globe.
- Country shapes: on Gall-Peters countries near the equator are clearly stretched vertically and those near the poles are flattened. Its average angular distortion over land is 37°, against 32° on Equal Earth.
- When a rectangle makes sense: the meridians of Gall-Peters are parallel, so the map fills a whole slide or page. The projection finder recommends it exactly when an equal-area map has to be a rectangle.
The Peters map debate and its successor
James Gall described this projection in 1855. In 1973 the German historian Arno Peters popularised it, presenting it as a fair alternative to Mercator that does not shrink the countries of the Global South. Cartographers replied that there are many equal-area maps and that this one badly distorts shapes, and the debate went on for years.
In 2017 Boston Public Schools replaced Mercator with the Gall-Peters map. That decision prompted the authors of Equal Earth (Bojan Šavrič, Tom Patterson, Bernhard Jenny), who in 2018 proposed a map that is also equal-area but without such strong stretching of the continents.
Read more
Frequently asked questions
For area they are equally accurate, because both are equal-area. They differ in shapes: the average angular distortion over land is 37° on Gall-Peters and 32° on Equal Earth.
Arno Peters presented it as the only fair world map and criticised Mercator. Cartographers pointed out that many equal-area maps exist and that this one strongly stretches the continents near the equator. We tell the story of the debate in our article on the projection war.
Both show true proportions. The projection finder recommends Equal Earth, and Gall-Peters when the map has to fill a rectangle.
Other comparisons
Each of these pairs has its own page that explains the differences, gives the historical context and answers common questions.