Best map projection for teaching geography
For a geography lesson, use Equal Earth as the main world map and a Mercator map as an example of distortion. Equal Earth shows the true proportions of the continents, and setting it next to Mercator teaches that every flat map gives something up.
Best choice: Equal Earth
Equal-area, pseudocylindrical
Equal Earth is a safe choice for a world map: it keeps areas true and looks familiar, so it doesn't mislead anyone about country sizes.
- Area: preserved
- Shape: distorted
- Distances: distorted
- Angles and directions: distorted
- Continuity: preserved
Also good
- Winkel TripelCompromise
The compromise National Geographic uses.
Open in the map labProjection guide - RobinsonCompromise
A gentle compromise, long a standard for wall maps.
Open in the map labProjection guide
What to avoid
It inflates areas far from the equator: Greenland looks nearly as large as Africa, although Africa is about 14 times larger.
See the problem on the map →A different goal or map shape? Change the answers in the finder →
Why two maps instead of one
A student who knows only one map takes it for a picture of reality. Only two projections side by side show that the shape and size of land depend on a cartographer's choices. Greenland and Africa on Mercator and on Equal Earth make the simplest example.
The 2026 UN resolution encourages schools to use equal-area maps and to teach that every flat map distorts the Earth. It bans no map at all.
Concepts worth introducing
These four concepts are enough for students to judge any world map on their own.
- Equal-area projection: keeps area ratios, for example Equal Earth and Mollweide.
- Conformal projection: keeps local angles, for example Mercator.
- Compromise projection: distorts everything moderately, for example Winkel Tripel and Robinson.
- Great circle and rhumb line: the shortest path on a sphere and the constant-bearing route.
Ready-made exercises
Each exercise takes a few minutes and runs in the browser, on phones too.
- Drag Greenland to the equator in the Mercator lab and watch it shrink.
- Compare the Warsaw → New York route on Mercator and on the gnomonic map in the route lab.
- Play the “Name the projection” quiz to learn the look of the main world maps.
- Ask students to pick a projection for a task with the finder, then test themselves in the “Pick the projection” quiz.
Frequently asked questions
An equal-area one, such as Equal Earth, because it does not distort the proportions of the continents. The 2026 UN resolution encourages such maps in education too.
No. The UN resolution bans nothing. A Mercator map is a valuable example in a lesson on distortion and is still used for navigation, but it should not be the only world map in the classroom.
Try flattening an orange peel. It cannot be done without tearing or stretching, and the globe is no different. The article on the orange peel dilemma develops this example.
The best projection for other jobs
- Comparing country sizesEqual Earth
- Thematic and data mapsEqual Earth
- Wall maps and postersWinkel Tripel
- Flight routesGnomonic
- Navigation and compass coursesMercator
- Web maps and appsMercator
- Distances from one placeAzimuthal Equidistant
- The Arctic and AntarcticaAzimuthal Equidistant
- Oceans and currentsSpilhaus Projection