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One way to make internet users really happy is to combine great aesthetics and good design with interesting and fresh information. People genuinely enjoy learning new things about the world while being entertained, and one of our favorite corners of the internet for that is this fantastic subreddit for map lovers around the globe.

The cartography, geography, and travel-loving members of the online community share the best maps they’ve seen while others go as far as to flex their skills and create their own. We’ve collected some of their most interesting and unusual maps to give you a brand new perspective on life on Planet Earth (and maybe even help you learn something new along the way). Scroll down to enjoy them and don’t forget to give the upvote button a gentle boop next to every map that you liked. Got your safari hats on? Onwards!

Bored Panda had a chat with the founder of the popular map-lovers' subreddit, land surveyor Patrick McGranaghan, about the community, his recent travels, and maps of his own creation. Check out what he told us, below.

#1

Africa's Population Density

Africa's Population Density

AbhiExplains Report

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Annabelle
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Look at the Nile it lights up. Wonder if the rest of the map also matches with natural water sources

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We wanted to know how Patrick, the founder, feels about the massive success of the subreddit, and that it's been around for nearly 12 years.

"It's crazy to think about how long the community has been around. I think that Reddit as a whole has become this massive social media presence," he shared his thoughts with Bored Panda.

"It's a useful site for sharing information and that has spread around the world," Patrick said that the community has "filled a niche" and believes it was started at "just the right time."

According to the founder, in the past 12 years, there's been a big shift to mobile-friendly content, which has changed how the subreddit is used.

#2

Equal Wealth Distribution Globally And Locally

Equal Wealth Distribution Globally And Locally

summersunsun Report

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Oscar Turing
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The problem is that the people with the most money have the most access to everything, and "everything" includes methods of retaining their money, as well as methods of making money passively.

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#3

Land Reclamation In The Netherlands

Land Reclamation In The Netherlands

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"In the beginning, the users had desktop computers and the maps were the kind that you could zoom in on and study for hours. Now, many of the maps are made for quick consumption to show interesting trivia or geographic anomalies," he explained how the content has changed over the years.

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Patrick is very passionate about traveling and is almost a modern-day adventurer in his spare time. In his spare time, he makes maps. We were curious about what he's been up to, recently.

"I've recently been traveling. I just finished a trip to Jordan and Israel and got to explore many historic sites. I've been doodling some casual maps from the trip. The geography of the holy land has inspired me to make more maps and I hope to post some soon," he told Bored Panda.

"Also, this summer I'm planning on visiting Finland for the International Map Collectors Society annual conference. Finland has been a historical country for cartography and I'm excited to visit the libraries and map collections there."

#5

8 Ways To Divide The Netherlands

8 Ways To Divide The Netherlands

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#6

Which Country Has The Most Naturally Armored Area On Earth? I Think It's China!

Which Country Has The Most Naturally Armored Area On Earth? I Think It's China!

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This May, the subreddit will be celebrating a whopping 12 years of educating and entertaining the internet. Created all the way back in 2011, the community has grown to over 2.2 million redditors in just over a decade.

If you happen to love cartography, statistics, or just plain good design, then odds are that you’ve stumbled upon the sub’s content at some point in time. Even if it was by accident. That’s how well-known the online group is.

#7

Mediterranean Sea Fits Inside Australia - Should Be A Much Better Image Than Last One

Mediterranean Sea Fits Inside Australia - Should Be A Much Better Image Than Last One

SteelDeliverance Report

#8

Private Jets Departing Arizona After The Super Bowl

Private Jets Departing Arizona After The Super Bowl

Logical_Scientist221 Report

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#9

Countries That Provide Military Aid To Ukraine (January 2023)

Countries That Provide Military Aid To Ukraine (January 2023)

KungUnderBerget Report

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Huddo's sister
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hate that you need to zoom in to read the text on so many of these maps and when you do it's so blurry

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The mastermind behind the awesome community is its founder, land surveyor Patrick—a big fan of traveling and creating maps. Over the past few years, we’ve spoken to Patrick a number of times and he shed some light on the community, map-making, and having an adventurous spirit.

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"There are many different reasons one chooses to make a map. Sometimes for navigation, sometimes for showing statistical phenomena, and sometimes for fantasy. While artistic skill helps, it is not absolutely necessary,” he told Bored Panda earlier.

“The important thing is to make it easy for users to glean useful information. Most maps should have a thesis or a story it is going to tell and this needs to be told through the map," the founder of the subreddit, Patrick, told us during an interview earlier.

#10

Sun Tanning vs. Skin Whitening Google Search

Sun Tanning vs. Skin Whitening Google Search

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Caro Caro
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Unfortunately the sun buggers up the skin if you don't wear sunscreen and I think it's sad that darker-skinned people use these creams to whiten their lovely dark skin. I just go red in the summer so I guess I look like Uncle Vinnies restaurant tablecloths in summer LOL

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#11

The World In 250 Million Years

The World In 250 Million Years

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#12

Standard Paper Sizes

Standard Paper Sizes

PepperBlues Report

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Mat Hall
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The ISO A sizes are wonderful; the long side is √2 times longer than the short side which means chopping it in half gives you two sheets with exactly the same proportions which means printing things on bigger or smaller sheets is trivial.

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The founder works on a lot of maps in his spare time. "Lately, I've been learning Blender. It is more of a 3-D animation program used by video game developers, but I believe that there are ways to use it to display maps," he told us in late 2021 how he’s been trying out new tools.

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"Blender has a great ability to show light and shadow patterns that are almost photo-realistic. I think there are ways to use this program beyond showing maps with realistic terrain. I'm still a novice now, but I'd like to explore other ways this program can visualize maps," he said at the time.

#13

Percentage Of Vegetarians In Every State Of India

Percentage Of Vegetarians In Every State Of India

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#14

As Of 2020, Half Of The Us Lives In The Black Counties, Half Live In The Orange

As Of 2020, Half Of The Us Lives In The Black Counties, Half Live In The Orange

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Green Tree
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But because of gerrymandering the black counties have an outsized influence in politics

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#15

Language Map Of Belgium

Language Map Of Belgium

Few_Introduction9919 Report

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Petra Schaap
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

its Flemish not Dutch, theres a big difference. and every section has their own local dialect and if you're more than 4 sections away they wont understand eachother :-) I speak very average Dutch and some dont understand me in Flanders

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“I've noticed, especially as I've gotten older, that you only have so much time on this planet and every day that is wasted is a day that you'll never get back. If you want to get out and explore the world you just have to do it,” Patrick shared earlier.

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#17

Percentage Of Population That Feel Their Country Has Benefited From Eu Membership

Percentage Of Population That Feel Their Country Has Benefited From Eu Membership

Logical_Scientist221 Report

#18

The 2022 Edition Of The Global Peace Index

The 2022 Edition Of The Global Peace Index

6_zeros Report

“Some adventures will cost time and resources, but the real question I ask myself is can I afford not to do some goal I have my heart set on. There are so many opportunities in this world that it may be hard to choose, but if you wait too long those opportunities will be gone forever," he said.

#19

How To Say Number "92" In European Countries

How To Say Number "92" In European Countries

Redstream28 Report

#21

The State Of World Press Freedom

The State Of World Press Freedom

madneon_ Report

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Labellesouris
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The fact that freedom of the press is being hobbled at all in the US is terrifying

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"I think a great way to learn about an exotic place is to make a map of it and really give some hours and care into making the map look as good as possible. You really get a connection for a place as you're putting labels on and making decisions about what to include and where to lay everything out.”

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#22

The Most Popular Languages Learnen On Duolingo Per Country

The Most Popular Languages Learnen On Duolingo Per Country

cutSnail Report

#23

Which Country Has The Most Attractive Men According To Europe

Which Country Has The Most Attractive Men According To Europe

reddit.com Report

#24

European Countries With A Higher Social Progress Index Than The Us

European Countries With A Higher Social Progress Index Than The Us

reddit.com Report

Meanwhile, there will always be a need for new maps. “The world is constantly changing and accurate spatial data is a fleeting thing. Google Maps certainly gives the impression that everything is mapped, but there is selection and generalization in their data.” He added: “In a way, reliance on Google Maps has made us dumber. We let the navigation app do all the work for us and don't engage with making the decisions.”

#25

Today Joseph And Mary Would Have To Pass Through 15 Checkpoints To Get From Nazareth To Bethlehem. - Map

Today Joseph And Mary Would Have To Pass Through 15 Checkpoints To Get From Nazareth To Bethlehem. - Map

MardukSyria Report

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Tiramisu
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

People need to educate themselves on what truly happens to Palestinians in the West Bank, in the name of “fighting terrorists” and “for the safety of Israel”. The West Bank was always supposed to be for Palestinians, since 1948. Israel seems to want all of Palestine for itself and only for itself.

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#26

Countries In Europe Where Escaping From Prison Isn’t A Crime

Countries In Europe Where Escaping From Prison Isn’t A Crime

ElPolloPayaso Report

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Mia Black
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

It's seen as a basic human instinct. But they will catch your for your prior sentence and hold you accountable for everything you did during and after the escape

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#27

Border Between China And Kazakhstan In Xinjiang Region

Border Between China And Kazakhstan In Xinjiang Region

eivarXlithuania Report

We’re pretty big fans of the subreddit and maps in general, so we know which ones are our faves. But we’d love to know which ones you enjoyed looking at, too! Drop by the comments and let us know. Meanwhile, for some more utterly amazing maps from the sub, check out Bored Panda’s previous features here, here, here, as well as here and here.

#28

Status Of Gay Marriage In Europe

Status Of Gay Marriage In Europe

Reasonable_Ninja5708 Report

#29

Someone Here Posted A Map Of Earthquakes Since 1900 (Top One) Now Watch It 1by1 To The Map Of Actual Tectonic Plates (Bottom One)

Someone Here Posted A Map Of Earthquakes Since 1900 (Top One) Now Watch It 1by1 To The Map Of Actual Tectonic Plates (Bottom One)

Lntc26 Report

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Altea
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Well... yeah? thats how they mapped the boundaries between plates. Duh!

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#30

% Of People Who Think Their Culture Is Superior To Others (Europe)

% Of People Who Think Their Culture Is Superior To Others (Europe)

UpeopleRamazing Report

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Pittsburgh rare
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The Greek perception is *somehow* justified. The Spanish perception is *somehow* unjustified. Won't comment about the rest ;)

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#31

Europeans Who Would Fight For Their Own Country

Europeans Who Would Fight For Their Own Country

CeceLovezz Report

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Mia Black
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

with Germany's past and which will continue to be remembered, the Germans dare not fight. the risk is too great to be seen again as the cause of a massive war (not that I'm saying they're innocent). so I can understand that the Germans are reluctant. that's somehow a good sign that the mistakes of the past (or something like that) shouldn't be repeated.

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#32

1920 Australian Map Of Sheep

1920 Australian Map Of Sheep

Evilaars Report

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Lolly Gagger
Community Member
1 year ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

First saw this decades ago. It was always meant to be a joke map - it was the kind of thing you’d find on postcards in country towns.

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#35

'it Is A Duty Towards Society To Have Children' % That Agree

'it Is A Duty Towards Society To Have Children' % That Agree

drinaciggz Report

#37

Areas Effected By The Massive 7,8 Earthquake In Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

Areas Effected By The Massive 7,8 Earthquake In Kahramanmaraş, Turkey

Patlichan Report

#38

Status Of Democracy In Europe According To The Eiu Democracy Index 2022

Status Of Democracy In Europe According To The Eiu Democracy Index 2022

Connor_The_Iguana Report

#39

Estimated Black Population In Europe By Country

Estimated Black Population In Europe By Country

Voicemail977 Report

#40

Countries By Self-Perceived Democracy

Countries By Self-Perceived Democracy

real_LNSS Report

Note: this post originally had 82 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.

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