Robinson vs Winkel Tripel: what's the difference?
Both projections are compromises: neither keeps area or angles perfectly, but both show the whole world in natural proportions. They differ in their grid and in where the distortion goes. Greenland covers 13.5% of Africa's area on Robinson, 15.6% on Winkel Tripel, and 7.1% in reality.
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| Feature | Robinson | Winkel Tripel |
|---|---|---|
| Basics | ||
| Distortion class | Compromise | Compromise |
| Graticule type | Pseudocylindrical | Modified azimuthal |
| Creator | Arthur H. Robinson | Oswald Winkel |
| Year | 1963 | 1921 |
| What it looks like | Parallels are straight lines, meridians are gentle curves, and the poles are lines about half as long as the equator. | Apart from the equator and the central meridian every graticule line is curved, and the poles are straight lines. |
| Distortion | ||
| Area | Compromise | Compromise |
| Shape | Compromise | Compromise |
| Distances | Compromise | Compromise |
| Angles and directions | Compromise | Compromise |
| Continuity | Preserved | Preserved |
| By the numbers | ||
| Greenland on the map, as a share of Africa | 13.5%1.9× too large | 15.6%2.2× too large |
| Average angular distortion over land | 23° | 23° |
| Practical traits | ||
| Map outline | Rectangle with rounded sides | 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 | Wall maps, educational atlases, and general geographical publications. It was the primary map projection used by the National Geographic Society from 1988 to 1998. | Modern wall maps. In 1998, the National Geographic Society adopted the Winkel Tripel projection as their standard projection for world maps. |
| First choice for | None of the jobs we describe | |
| A good alternative for | ||
| Not recommended for | None of the jobs we describe | None of the jobs we describe |
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
- Grid: on Robinson the parallels are straight lines. On Winkel Tripel only the equator and the central meridian are straight, and the other grid lines curve gently.
- Poles: both projections draw the poles as lines rather than points, so the polar regions are stretched sideways on both.
- Country sizes: Winkel Tripel enlarges high latitudes a little more. Greenland covers 15.6% of Africa's area on it and 13.5% on Robinson.
- Shapes: the average angular distortion over land is almost the same, 23° on Robinson and 23° on Winkel Tripel. The differences show mainly near the edges of the map.
- Construction: Winkel Tripel is the arithmetic mean of two projections, the equirectangular and the Aitoff. Robinson has no such formula, only a table of coordinates.
Two maps from one publisher
Oswald Winkel published his projection in 1921 and Arthur H. Robinson his in 1963. Tripel is German for triple: Winkel wanted to limit three kinds of distortion at once, namely area, direction and distance.
National Geographic used Robinson as its main world map from 1988 and replaced it with Winkel Tripel in 1998.
In a 2007 analysis by David Goldberg and J. Richard Gott, which measured the distortion of popular world maps, Winkel Tripel showed low distortion on most measures and excellent overall quality.
Read more
Frequently asked questions
Both work. The projection finder recommends Winkel Tripel for a wall map and lists Robinson as an alternative.
No. Both are compromises and enlarge areas far from the equator: Greenland covers 13.5% and 15.6% of Africa's area on them instead of 7.1%. For comparing sizes an equal-area map such as Equal Earth is better.
Look at the parallels. On Robinson they are straight horizontal lines, while on Winkel Tripel they curve slightly and only the equator stays straight.
Other comparisons
Each of these pairs has its own page that explains the differences, gives the historical context and answers common questions.