40 Maps That Will Help You Make Sense of the World

The Best of the visual Web, sifted, sorted and summarized

1. Where Google Street View is Available

Map by Google

 

 

2. Countries That Do Not Use the Metric System

Map via Wikimedia Commons

 

 

3. The Only 22 Countries in the World Britain Has Not Invaded (not shown: Sao Tome and Principe)

Map by Stuart Laycock (via The Telegraph)

 

 

4. Map of ‘Pangea’ with Current International Borders

Map by eatrio.net via Reddit

 

Pangea was a supercontinent that existed during the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic eras, forming about 300 million years ago. It began to break apart around 200 million years ago. The single global ocean which surrounded Pangaea is accordingly named Panthalassa.

 

5. McDonald’s Across the World

Map by Business Management EU

 

 

6. Paid Maternal Leave Around the World

 

Map by The New York Times

 

 

7. The Most Common Surnames in Europe by Country

Map by Teepr on Reddit

 

 

8. Worldwide Driving Orientation by Country

Map by ChartsBin.com

 

 

9. Map of Time Zones in Antarctica

Map by Phoenix B 1of3

 

 

10. Global Internet Usage Based on Time of Day

Map by Carna Botnet via Reddit

 

 

11. The World’s Busiest Air Routes in 2012

 

Map by Vizual Statistix

 

 

12. Visualizing Global Population Density

Map by valeriepieris on Reddit

 

 

13. Flag Map of the World

Map by andrewfahmy on Reddit

 

 

14. Map of Alcohol Consumption Around the World

 

Map by World Health Organization

 

 

15. Map of Alcoholic Drink Popularity by Country

 

Map by World Health Organization

 

 

16. Map of Rivers in the Contiguous United States

Map by Nelson Minar

 

 

17. US Map of the Highest Paid Public Employees by State

Map by Deadspin.com

 

 

18. World Map of Earthquakes Since 1898

Map by John M Nelson

 

 

19. Map of Where 29,000 Rubber Duckies Made Landfall After Falling off a Cargo Ship in the Middle of the Pacific Ocean

Map via prometheus08 on Reddit

 

 

20. Map of Countries with the Most Violations of Bribery

 

Map by James Mintz Group

 

 

21. World Map of Vegetation on Earth

Map by NASA/NOAA

 

 

22. Average Age of First Sexual Intercourse by Country

Map by ChartsBin.com

 

 

23. If the World’s Population Lived in One City

Maps by Tim De Chant @ persquaremile.com

 

 

24. The Number of Researchers per Million Inhabitants
Around the World

Map by ChartsBin.com

 

 

25. Worldwide Map of Oil Import And Export Flows

Map by BP via Business Insider

 

 

26. The 7000 Rivers that Feed into the Mississippi River

Map via Gradeskee on Reddit

 

 

27. World Map of the Different Writing Systems

Map by Maximilian Dörrbecker (Chumwa) on Wikimedia Commons

 

 

28. Worldwide Annual Coffee Consumption Per Capita

Map by ChartsBin.com

 

 

29. The Economic Center of Gravity Since 1 AD

 

Map by McKinsey&Company

 

 

30. The World Divided Into 7 Regions,
Each with a Population of 1 Billion

Map by delugetheory on Reddit

 

 

31. Earth’s Population by Latitude and Longitude

 

Photograph by mrgeng on Reddit

 

 

32. Map of Contiguous United States
Overlaid on the Moon

Map by boredboarder8 on Reddit

 

 

33. Frequency of Lightning Strikes Throughout the World

 

Map by Citynoise on Wikimedia Commons

 

 

34. Overall Water Risk Around the World

Map by World Resources Institute

 

 

35. The Most Dangerous Areas in the World
To Ship Due to Pirates

Map by Control Risks

 

 

36. Area Codes in Which Ludacris Claims to Have H*es
(song reference)

Map via asonjones on Reddit

 

 

37. Where 2% of Australia’s Population Lives

Map by e8odie on Reddit

 

 

38. The Longest Straight Line You Can Sail on Earth
(Pakistan to Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia – 20000 miles)

Map by kepleronlyknows on Reddit

 

 

39. Map of Europe Showing Literal
Chinese Translations for Country Names

Map by haohaoreport.com

 

 

40. Reversed Map with Southern Hemisphere at Top of Map (because position of North is arbitrary)

Map via nnm.me

 

 

*Bonus*
World Map Tattoo with Countries Visited Coloured

Map via OutrageousAnimals on Reddit