41 Maps That Help you Make Sense of the World

If you’re a visual learner like myself, then you know maps, charts and infographics can really help bring data and information to life. Maps can make a point resonate with readers and this collection aims to do just that.

Hopefully some of these maps will surprise you and you’ll learn something new. A few are important to know, some interpret and display data in a beautiful or creative way, and a few may even make you chuckle or shake your head.



1. Where Google Street View is Available




2. Countries That Do Not Use the Metric System




3. The Only 22 Countries in the World Britain Has Not Invaded (not shown: Sao Tome and Principe)




4. Map of ‘Pangea’ with Current International Borders

Pangea was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras, forming about 300 million years ago. It began to break apart around 200 million years ago. The single global ocean which surrounded Pangaea is accordingly named Panthalassa.



5. McDonald’s Across the World




6. Paid Maternal Leave Around the World




7. The Most Common Surnames in Europe by Country




8. Worldwide Driving Orientation by Country




9. Map of Time Zones in Antarctica




10. Global Internet Usage Based on Time of Day




11. The World’s Busiest Air Routes in 2012



12. Visualizing Global Population Density




13. Flag Map of the World




14. Map of Alcohol Consumption Around the World




15. Map of Alcoholic Drink Popularity by Country




16. Map of Rivers in the Contiguous United States





17. US Map of the Highest Paid Public Employees by State




18. World Map of Earthquakes Since 1898




19. Map of Where 29,000 Rubber Duckies Made Landfall After Falling off a Cargo Ship in the Middle of the Pacific Ocean




20. Map of Countries with the Most Violations of Bribery




21. World Map of Vegetation on Earth




22. Average Age of First Sexual Intercourse by Country




23. If the World’s Population Lived in One City




24. The Number of Researchers per Million Inhabitants
Around the World





25. Worldwide Map of Oil Import And Export Flows




26. The 7000 Rivers that Feed into the Mississippi River




27. World Map of the Different Writing Systems




28. Worldwide Annual Coffee Consumption Per Capita




29. The Economic Center of Gravity Since 1 AD




30. The World Divided Into 7 Regions,
Each with a Population of 1 Billion





31. Earth’s Population by Latitude and Longitude




32. Map of Contiguous United States
Overlaid on the Moon





33. Frequency of Lightning Strikes Throughout the World




34. Overall Water Risk Around the World




35. The Most Dangerous Areas in the World
To Ship Due to Pirates





36. Area Codes in Which Ludacris Claims to Have H*es
(song reference)




37. Where 2% of Australia’s Population Lives




38. The Longest Straight Line You Can Sail on Earth
(Pakistan to Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia – 20000 miles)








39. Map of Europe Showing Literal
Chinese Translations for Country Names





40. Reversed Map with Southern Hemisphere at Top of Map (because position of North is arbitrary)




*Bonus*
World Map Tattoo with Countries Visited Coloured






Source