Eli5 Why is Africa frequently shown as smaller than its actua size on maps? (Or I guess why are maps in general not proportionate??)

Question

I’ve seen a (non) literal billion maps with different depictions of how large Africa is. I gather that it is actually far larger than the United States, but it doesn’t usually seem to be depicted that way. This seriously confuses me. ISS flyovers give a good idea of the difference. Why are so many maps disproportionate?

In: Technology

Answer 1

Wanted to add to the other two posts that the reason Africa in particular gets so distorted into a smaller size is because so much of it is in close proximity to the equator. When converting to a 2D surface in a lot of projections, the space and shape near the equator becomes smaller and the spaces near the poles becomes larger. This is also why Greenland appears huge AF.

Adding this clip because it’s always a good watch.