Choosing the Right Projection

The best projection depends on your purpose. Navigating? Use Mercator. Comparing country sizes? Use an equal-area projection like Gall-Peters. Teaching world geography? Use Robinson for visual balance. The right map is simply the one that protects the property you care about most.

Google Maps uses Web Mercator, which preserves direction for navigation but distorts area at global scales. Greenland looks almost as big as Africa, yet Africa is about 14 times larger than Greenland. Russia, too, appears far bigger than it really is compared with the continents near the equator.