Interactive projection study
Mercator vs Equal Earth – Interactive Comparison
Hover or select any country to compare its exact screen footprint in matched Mercator and Equal Earth panels. Continuously zoom or pan either map and both views retain the same geographic center, alongside a geodesic area estimate derived from the same boundary geometry.
How the linked comparison works
Both panels use the same Natural Earth boundary geometry and identical SVG coordinate dimensions. The reported screen footprint is projection-dependent display area, not geographic area.
Area accuracy
Mercator scale grows toward the poles. Equal Earth preserves relative area everywhere on the map.
Shape and direction
Mercator preserves local angles, which supports navigation. Equal Earth balances familiar shapes with equal area.
Best uses
Mercator remains useful for navigation and tiled web maps. Equal Earth is designed for thematic, educational, and general-purpose world maps.
Greenland distortion
Mercator can make Greenland look comparable to Africa. Equal Earth restores their approximate one-to-fourteen area relationship.
Primary sources and method
Map geometry uses Natural Earth 1:110m boundaries. Projection math uses D3’s spherical implementations. Area values are rounded and may vary slightly with coastline, inland-water, and boundary conventions.
- Natural Earth 1:110m country boundaries
- Equal Earth projection project
- D3 geographic projections
- United Nations Statistics area data
- African Union area reference
Published September 7, 2026 · Last reviewed September 7, 2026