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When most of us think about the word “data'' our eyes glaze over as a million Excel cells appear in our minds, putting us to sleep. So clever folks out there rolled up their sleeves and got to work, making visual depictions of data that help us better understand the world.

This online group shares various cool and interesting maps that help put all sorts of facts and figures into context. So get comfortable, prepare to brush up on some geography, and get to scrolling. Be sure to upvote your favorite posts and share your thoughts and observations in the comments section below. 

#1

Good Political Maps Of Oceania Are Hard To Come By

Good Political Maps Of Oceania Are Hard To Come By

RecordingFancy8515 Report

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Tucker Cahooter
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5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Kiwis breathe a sigh of relief that they are not being overlooked for a change

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#2

The Literal Meaning Of Every Country's Name In Africa

The Literal Meaning Of Every Country's Name In Africa

Homesanto Report

#3

Endings Of Places In Poland

Endings Of Places In Poland

DaveBensonPhilips Report

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Bernd Herbert
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is the result of an old dialectal boundary. and another fun fact: In Northeastern Germany you will find lots of places that end in -ow, showing that the old Slawic Tribes were living in that area, way before any of today's national borders.

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If you have ever taken a casual look at an average map of the world, you have no doubt been struck by the sheer size of Russia and, to a lesser extent, Canada. This does make sense, as these are the largest countries on the planet, however, did you know that a little feature of mapmaking called Mercator projection makes them look significantly larger than they really are?

This comes from the Flemish geographer and cartographer Gerardus Mercator, who created a “cylindrical” map to represent the world in 1569. After all, unless you are looking at a globe, most maps are drawn, painted, or printed on a rectangular surface. Imagine the tube-like maps pirates are always dragging around and you have a pretty good depiction of an early Mercator map. 

#5

What’s The Most Popular Sport In Each Country?

What’s The Most Popular Sport In Each Country?

geographyfacts Report

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WindySwede
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5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Correct usage of football ⚽️ /s ☺️ not that I care about sports, just find the wordusage peculiar..

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#6

Time Needed To Earn 1€ Million Earning On Average Wage

Time Needed To Earn 1€ Million Earning On Average Wage

karinasnooodles_ Report

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Tee Pussi
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5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sure, if you can manage not to pay taxes or rent and don't eat for a few decades.

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After all, the real landmasses on the planet, which are spherical, don’t translate 1-to-1 on a rectangular map. Certain sections end up stretched and, as a result, appear to be a lot larger than they actually are. Mercator chose to “focus” the map on the northern hemisphere, where locations closer to the “top” of the map would end up seeming larger. Hence Russia and Canada being absolutely gigantic on so many maps. 

#8

How Many % Of People Would Not Want To Live Next Door To Lgbt People?

How Many % Of People Would Not Want To Live Next Door To Lgbt People?

theworldmaps Report

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Sarinz
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I wouldn't want to live next door to people who "Would Not Want To Live Next Door To Lgbt People"...

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#9

World Map According To China In 1799

World Map According To China In 1799

Redstream28 Report

In fact, at the time, these maps were specifically created to aid in marine navigation. While it’s quite irrelevant to us, early seafarers could use a Mercator map to get a “straight” bearing when sailing to a new location. On a map that doesn’t use Mercator projection, the bearing would be a curve, representing the curve of the globe.

#10

U.S. States That Have Banned The Most Books (In Autumn 2022)

U.S. States That Have Banned The Most Books (In Autumn 2022)

GaffersB Report

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WindySwede
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

At least it started backfiring in Utah, banning the bible from schools. For content of murder, violence, sexual things etc.

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#11

Percentage Of Population (25-64yrs) In Europe That Cant Speak Any Foreign Language

Percentage Of Population (25-64yrs) In Europe That Cant Speak Any Foreign Language

MardukSyria Report

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TotallyNOTAFox
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

English is mandatory here in Germany, additionally there are usually choices for french and spanish on top

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This sort of map has simply stuck around for hundreds of years, leading many people to draw somewhat incorrect conclusions about the real size of things. We are lucky that Russia and Canada really are the two largest countries, so the distortions don’t seem as bad. Other examples of distortion are the similarity between the UK and Madagascar, despite the latter being nearly twice as large.

#13

Belief In Life After Death In Europe

Belief In Life After Death In Europe

cloudtdaz Report

#14

Average Money Spent On Weddings In US States

Average Money Spent On Weddings In US States

Starry_Night0123 Report

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Bernd Herbert
Community Member
5 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is absolutely wild. Looking at California....this is more than I spent in the last 10 years for various vacations. I'm from Germany, and those vacations included USA & Hawaii, Australia, New Zealand, the Seychelles, Mauritius and countless trips within Europe. (Yes, I'm counting my expenses.) I would never ever exchange these experiences with a one-time party. Absolutely absurd!

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#15

Roman Coin Hoards, From The 'Coinage In The Roman Empire' Project — 'Hoards Containing Coinage In Use In The Roman Empire Between 30 B.c. And A.d. 400.'

Roman Coin Hoards, From The 'Coinage In The Roman Empire' Project — 'Hoards Containing Coinage In Use In The Roman Empire Between 30 B.c. And A.d. 400.'

idonotknowtodo Report

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sbj
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Those Romans were very careless with their loose change on their travels

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Even more comically, due to its northerly position, Alaska appears to be roughly the size of Australia, despite the fact that the land down under is almost five times larger. You can find an excellent gif depicting the presented and real size of various nations here

#16

When Is Weekend

When Is Weekend

two_plus_two_is_zero Report

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#17

Asia's Counting System. How Do You Say The Number 57

Asia's Counting System. How Do You Say The Number 57

Mokkasakka Report

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TotallyNOTAFox
Community Member
5 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Blue and yellow are reasonable, the rest seems overly complicated. Edit: Orange, not yellow ^^

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#19

Male Body Hair Distribution Of Indigenous Human Populations Around The World

Male Body Hair Distribution Of Indigenous Human Populations Around The World

Homesanto Report

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Tuesday
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

South Indians are hairy, didn't need a graph to tell me that, just a mirror... sigh. I'm a woman and I'm hairier than my North Indian father

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#20

Sex Ratio

Sex Ratio

Hockputer09 Report

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Tracy Wallick
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And yet, men are treated as the default despite being a smaller percent of the population in the majority of countries.

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#21

Percentage Of Light vs. Brown Hair In European Countries

Percentage Of Light vs. Brown Hair In European Countries

Specific_Ad_097 Report

#22

Most Wasteful Countries In The World

Most Wasteful Countries In The World

flyingcatwithhorns Report

#24

Air Polution In Europe

Air Polution In Europe

therealcup_1 Report

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Monstarr the Divisive
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Whoa... What's happening in nort Italy, Poland and around the Balkans? Why is it so bad there?

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#25

US States By Violent Crime Rate

US States By Violent Crime Rate

Specific_Ad_685 Report

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LovingKnuckle
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

In regards to Alaska. A lot has to do with isolation: More isolated communities are harder to get police assistance and there are more crimes due to it. Drugs (a big factor), property theft, suicide, assault and murder happen very frequently. In the larger cities there is a lot of gang violence. There are also a lot of systemic socioeconomic disparities especially in indigenous communities.

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Martin Kaine
Community Member
5 months ago

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Surenu
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well, Florida Man headlines are the state's main export so I guess they don't book/jail their suppliers?

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David
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

However in many of these states, nearly all the violent crime are in 1 or 2 cities. In fact in the US we we remove our 6 highest crime cities from our national numbers, US becomes one of the lowest violent crime countries out there. It's a few urban areas, which shows crime solutions need to be focused on those urban cities.

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Marnie
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Once again, my state (Minnesota) doing pretty good overall.

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Jennifer Dibble
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Significantly higher adult male population. Whether we like to admit it or not, the vast majority of violent crimes are committed by men, so more men per capita means more violent crime per capita. Simple statistics.

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ReggieTx
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Maine resident here. Sad to say recent events will be bringing that number up. Happened in my own city too. Very sad.

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The Doom Song
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm guessing no one commits crimes in Maine? Is it coz every Stephen King book is set in Maine therefore no one wants to go outside

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Littleminnow1
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think it would be interesting to see california by its self, that place's so interesting...

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The Original Bruno
Community Member
5 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What's interesting about maps of the *murder* rate of the U.S. is how little they say about political arguments. States with the loosest gun laws include both states with the highest and lowest murder rates, such as Maine, Vermont, Wyoming and Idaho but also Alaska, Montana and Mississippi. Yeah, Mississippi has a very high murder rate, and a very low overall violent crime rate. States with the strictest gun laws include (in addition to D.C.), California, Illinois and New Mexico, but also Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Hawaii.

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ADHORTATOR
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

What is considered a crime in the US? Are there differences to Europe?

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David Paterson
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Got to be different. The USA has one of the largest prisoner percentages in the world.

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John Leavitt
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5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Funny how states with stricter gun laws have less violent crime with the exception of Maine.

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Donald
Community Member
5 months ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

California (strict gun laws) is higher than Florida (almost no gun laws) also its almost on par with Texas.

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#26

The Countries With The Most Island

The Countries With The Most Island

robertjan88 Report

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BoredPossum
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5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The islands in Sweden are very very small but numerous. That's why they don't show up on most maps.

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#27

The Most Consumed Type Of Meat By Country Including Fish & Seafood

The Most Consumed Type Of Meat By Country Including Fish & Seafood

giuliomagnifico Report

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WindySwede
Community Member
5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Nope, according to 'The Swedish Board of Agriculture', it's poultry meat (when not including sausages, ham and kassler). When you include them (and assuming they are 100% pork meat, pork is #1 by approximately 3,5x compared to fish.

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#28

The Most And Least Happy Countries In The World

The Most And Least Happy Countries In The World

Intelligent_Store0 Report

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R L
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5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think Israel's view may have changed somewhat in the past weeks.

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#29

Projection Of Water Stress Level By Country In 2040

Projection Of Water Stress Level By Country In 2040

giuliomagnifico Report

#30

Highest Temperature Recorded In Europe Countries

Highest Temperature Recorded In Europe Countries

Redstream28 Report

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pep Ito
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5 months ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

These maps are misleading. They should have shown the point where it was reached and the temperature by zones. As it appears on the map it seems that all of Spain reached 47 degrees when it was in the south of Spain and probably in the northern half the temperatures were. By far lower

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Note: this post originally had 54 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.