40 Unusual And Fascinating Maps That Might Change Your Perspective On The World (New Pics)
InterviewOne 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.
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Africa's Population Density
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.
Equal Wealth Distribution Globally And Locally
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.
Land Reclamation In The Netherlands
"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.
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."
Old Zealand
8 Ways To Divide The Netherlands
Which Country Has The Most Naturally Armored Area On Earth? I Think It's China!
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.
Mediterranean Sea Fits Inside Australia - Should Be A Much Better Image Than Last One
Private Jets Departing Arizona After The Super Bowl
Countries That Provide Military Aid To Ukraine (January 2023)
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
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.
"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.
Sun Tanning vs. Skin Whitening Google Search
The World In 250 Million Years
Standard Paper Sizes
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.
"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.
Percentage Of Vegetarians In Every State Of India
As Of 2020, Half Of The Us Lives In The Black Counties, Half Live In The Orange
But because of gerrymandering the black counties have an outsized influence in politics
Language Map Of Belgium
I had this in school for a case study. 59% of population lives in the Flemish area and communicates in the Dutch language. 40% live in the Wallonia area and communicate in French. And Brussels, the capital, is a different affair. 80% individuals communicate in French while 20% are Dutch speakers. It can be kinda confusing at times.
“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.
A Population Density Map Of Illinois
Percentage Of Population That Feel Their Country Has Benefited From Eu Membership
The 2022 Edition Of The Global Peace Index
Makes me proud of my country. nor just this map but a few of them
“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.
How To Say Number "92" In European Countries
Distribution Of Grey And Red Squirrels In The UK
The State Of World Press Freedom
The fact that freedom of the press is being hobbled at all in the US is terrifying
"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.”
The Most Popular Languages Learnen On Duolingo Per Country
Lol Sweden is learning swedish? I guess some people are from other countries
Which Country Has The Most Attractive Men According To Europe
European Countries With A Higher Social Progress Index Than The Us
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.”
Today Joseph And Mary Would Have To Pass Through 15 Checkpoints To Get From Nazareth To Bethlehem. - Map
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.
Countries In Europe Where Escaping From Prison Isn’t A Crime
Border Between China And Kazakhstan In Xinjiang Region
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.
Status Of Gay Marriage In Europe
Someone Here Posted A Map Of Earthquakes Since 1900 (Top One) Now Watch It 1by1 To The Map Of Actual Tectonic Plates (Bottom One)
% Of People Who Think Their Culture Is Superior To Others (Europe)
The Greek perception is *somehow* justified. The Spanish perception is *somehow* unjustified. Won't comment about the rest ;)
Europeans Who Would Fight For Their Own Country
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.
I'd say that could be said about the rest of Europe too.
Load More Replies...That's simply declarative - except Ukraine. Some countries (especially in western Europe) haven't had a major conflict or uprising since 1945, nor did they have an aggressive neighbor such as the former USSR. The truth is, you never know what people would do in extreme situations.
This. It's very hard to say what you'd do unless you're literally faced with an invading force raping your daughter's and torturing your friends and family. Pretty sure that would swing a lot of people. Like I'm not about to join the army for some patriotic bùllshit, but I'd sure as hell fight for the people I love.
Load More Replies...Well since Finland is like the happiest country in the world, the happy Finns dare fight for theth soil
also they happen to sit next to an aggressive neighbour.
Load More Replies...I see it as a risk index. Countries more at risk of imminent war have citizens ready to defend them. Western Europe has been conflict free since 1945 and is shielded by the most powerful military alliance in the history of the world. Outside of nuclear conflict there are no militaries in the world strong enough to successfully invade NATO. I imagine this index would quickly change if these countries came under threat.
Pretty sure the Baltics and Poland data isn't needed. They're ready to go....
I first saw this map in 2020. The Russians should've paid attention (and maybe "liberated" some place like Belgium or Italy.)
Eventually they will do. That is why Ukraine needs all the support it can get.
Load More Replies...Survey results like this come down to how the question was presented. The answers can swing wildly. A population’s willingness to fight a war somewhere else is going to be different than their willingness to fight if they are in dangerous of or actively being invaded.
Exactly. The question depends on the context. If you ask someone in the Baltic states right now 'would you fight for your country?' they are obviously going to imagine a Russian invasion. If you ask someone in the UK the same question, we might understand it as 'do you want to go somewhere sandy and blow up Muslims to protect oil company profits?'.
Load More Replies...The Finns kicked butt during the Winter War. Makes me proud when l think about it even the l am actually not Finnish. The Norwegian resistance fought hard against the Nazis, so they will be up there, too.
You know that Finland was in an alliance with the Nazis right? (I'm from Finland and just saying that we were not "the good guys" at WW2)
Load More Replies...What do you find unexpected? The high numbers, the low numbers, the distribution...? I would say that some countries have a low number because of involvement in a major war in the recent past and we don't want to ever repeat that (Germany). Some countries are ethnically quite homogenous and/or have conservative leaders that distribute the foreign threat narrative and/or have being attacked in the war deeply engrained in their national memory (e.g. Poland). The countries closer to Russia might feel a larger threat than those further West. None of these ideas explain all numbers, though... I (German) remember when visiting the US in 2005-2007 that the concept of "supporting the troops" and entering the army as a worthwhile career option was completely foreign to me.
Load More Replies...In greece it´s actually close to 0. All these nationalist that believe that are direct descendants of Alexander the great and say that they will fight for their country, will take a first class ticket to anywhere if something happen and war comes. Half of the greeks deserted the country only because of the bad economy, imagine an actual conflict.
Holy hell Czech Republic is at 21-40% ? We have so many? I don't know a single one who would as much as shout at an enemy for this country.
It's almost only Russians who are too old to be conscripted who are claiming willingness to "fight for their country". If Russians were that willing to fight, Russia wouldn't be paying Mercenaries and emptying their prisons. Of course, Russia is an aging country, and people in their 50s and 60s far outnumber people in the 18-40 range.
I would fight to protect myself, my family, dog friends, even someone I didn't know if I saw they were in trouble. But f**k my country
Sad that so many people would "happily" allow dictators to come and take over. Do they actually want to live in ... say... n korean living conditions? I guess when it happens they will then be concerned.
I guess there is no immediate danger of a dictatorship, and north korean conditions seem very far away and very unlikely. However, when facing oppression or the chance to overthrow it, many people find their courage and their voice. I've seen this in 1989 (I was a little child) when communism fell in Eastern Europe, and then in the following years when USSR collapsed.
Load More Replies...1920 Australian Map Of Sheep
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.
Legality Of Islamic Dresses For Woman
Americans' Opinion On Europe
'it Is A Duty Towards Society To Have Children' % That Agree
Areas Isis Wanted To Capture By 2020
Areas Effected By The Massive 7,8 Earthquake In Kahramanmaraş, Turkey
Status Of Democracy In Europe According To The Eiu Democracy Index 2022
Portugal? I don't know how it's flawed. Not more than Spain, anyway
Estimated Black Population In Europe By Country
Countries By Self-Perceived Democracy
A Map Of Where Traffic Accidents Occurred Between 2016 And 2019, In 48 States
Languages Spoken By European/North American Leaders
Percentage Of People Who Feel Safe Walking Outside At Night
Number Of Guns Per 100 Inhabitants In Europe
I am surprised the numbers are so high in some places... Germany Maybe because of the tradition of being member in a rifle club (Schützenverein) - which sounds bad to me but is mostly party (without guns) on country sides as far as I know...what's with the other high ranking countries?
Places Of Worship, North America
England, Right To Roam Map
Places That "Don't Exist" According To Internet Memes (Many Based On The Original "Bielefeld Conspiracy")
Most Common Country Of Birth For Residents Of Foreign Origin, Excluding Mexico
This map cannot be right. I live in MI and know our Arab community is massive. Did a little research and we have 2.1 million Arabs and Almost 65,000 Indians. So….. Edit: I’ve been corrected see below.
Map Of The Percentage Of Population Able To Speak French In The Eu By Country
Not EU. And it’s more than 25% but not all of them acknowledge it (for real).
Norad Has Been Tracking The Spy Ballon Since Its Launched From China
I'm not saying it's a spy balloon, but it is NOT a weather balloon. Weather balloons don't have the ability to make course corrections...as were noted by the satellite tracking. And I'm sure it was innocent in it's course of flying over military installations, and only military installations. Atmospheric Circulation, global wind patterns, don't follow it's path. It could be believable if when it got to Alaska, it moved east across Canada as that is a pattern. But NOT south east. Not trying to offend anyone...just the scientific facts...
A Map From Life Magazine, February 10, 1916. It Shows Readers The Possible Consequences Of The Us Refusal To Help The Entente Countries In The War Against Germany
Most Common Foreign Nationalities In Prisons Of European Countries
Linguistic Map Of Spain
Percentage Of Population Able To Hold A Conservation In German
The Word For "Tea" In Languages Of Europe
Stadiums In The Next World Cup
Map Of The Schengen Area As Of January 1st, 2023. Light Blue Countries Are De Facto Participating, And The Yellow Countries Are Committed To Joining In The Future. The Source Is Wikipedia
Interesting agreement. I am fascinated by the twists the member nations have taken during the increasing migrant crisis
Biggest Source Of Electricity In The States And Provinces
Eu Countries Pushing To Label Nuclear Power As Green Energy
Greatest Extent Of The Russian Empire
Percentage Of Europeans Whose Wealth Is Under $10,000
This needs a lot of clarification. First, what do you mean by "wealth"? Second, even a quick back of the envelope calculation makes me suspicious; the UK has some nice round numbers for this. Population 67m, around 54m of them are adults which is near enough 80%, and close enough to "1m people is 2%" to get an easy feel. So, 14% of adults are aged 20-29 and are unlikely to have much wealth (probably because of all the avocado toast /s), and 20% (8m adults) are defined as living in *poverty*...
What Happened To Isis Territory In Syria?
The United States As James K. Polk Wanted It
Us States That Enforce Seatbelts
Map Of Europe Split By What Hand They Traditionally Wear Their Weddings Rings On
Countries That Have Sent Or Offered Help To Turkey And Syria In Regards To The Devastating Earthquake On February 6th, 2023
Male Suicides To Female Suicides Ratio
America's Car Reliance: Getting To Work Across 48 States Mapped
When You Can't Afford A Trip To The United States
U.S. Senate Vote On The 1964 Civil Rights Act
Do You Agree With This Map Of Proposed Time Zones For Europe?
Great! New Year's Eve will occur at different times in Ireland and Northern Ireland. So revellers can celebrate, cross the border and celebrate it all over again, just like they do in NSW and QLD (the border separating the two literally goes down the street separating Tweed Heads from Coolangatta so all revellers have to do is cross the road)
Earth's 12 Largest Subdivisions
Most of the population in Western Australia is concentrated in the south west, so most of the electorates (conceptually the same as constituencies in the UK) were in that region. At one point there was a federal electorate occupying 90% of the state. So *one* person had to represent all the people in an area (as per Wikipedia) the size of France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Poland and Great Britain *combined*. No doubt voters in that electorate didn't get to see their local member too often
I Made Gingerbread Cookies In The Shape Of Congressional Districts!
Ghana vs. The Ghana Empire
Israel's Segregated Road System
Switching Europe Around: The Population Of The Most Populous Country Goes To The Country With The Biggest Area, The Population Of The 2nd Most Populous Country Goes To The One With The 2nd Biggest Area, And So On
Thoughts On This Map: Percentage Of Europeans Who Would Defend Their Countries
Map Of Counties Of Illinois Which Will And Will Not Be Enforcing Illinois's New Assault Weapon Ban
We can't fix the gun problem if we don't work together! As an Illinois resident, this angers me. A lot.
Percent Of Gdp Spent By Nato Members On The Military (2% Obligation)
Fifa World Cup 2026 — Host Cities
I'm surprised USA got the FIFA, I didn't know americans knew what footie was? /jk
Taliban Government Has Inaugurated World Globe With Distorted Indian Map In Kabul
Who in Kabul will know the difference if the Taliban has its way? They are slashing education for their women to ribbons! Men are educated in certain subjects only with knowledge that the Taliban leaders feel necessary.
San Andreas
The number of maps (82] could be dropped a ton if all the repeats were removed.
Give it a few hours and BP will shorten it to popular vote. Don't know why they can't just limit the number of items BEFORE they publish it.
Load More Replies...The number of maps (82] could be dropped a ton if all the repeats were removed.
Give it a few hours and BP will shorten it to popular vote. Don't know why they can't just limit the number of items BEFORE they publish it.
Load More Replies...