Explained in plain English

Why do maps distort?

All flat maps of our round Earth have to stretch or shrink some areas, making them look bigger or smaller than they truly are. The old Mercator map, from 1569, was great for sailing but made landmasses near the poles appear much larger. The new Equal Earth projection aims to show countries more accurately, especially those closer to the equator, like Africa, which looks much bigger on the new map.