Where Area Equals People
Its developer has created an algorithm specifically designed to resize countries while attemp... What would the world look like if countries were resized according to the number of people living in them?
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What would the world look like if countries were resized according to the number of people living in them?
As you drag through the timeline, countries swell and shrink, offering a striking visualisation of the changing balance of population around the globe.
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The useful part
What would the world look like if countries were resized according to the number of people living in them? Unlike a conventional map, this animated population cartogram continually distorts the shapes and sizes of countries so that their area reflects their share of the world's population. As you drag through the timeline, countries swell and shrink, offering a striking visualisation of the changing balance of population around the globe.
How it works
- India follows a different trajectory, becoming relatively smallest around 1980 before its population growth eventually sees it overtake China around 2020.
- China, for example, is the world's most populous country for much of the animation, yet its relative size actually declines throughout the entire period as the global population grows.
- While many parts of the world shrink in relative terms, Africa expands rapidly during the 21st century, with Nigeria projected to overtake the United States in population by around 2060.
- Its developer has created an algorithm specifically designed to resize countries while attemp...
Details worth keeping
One of the biggest transformations involves Africa.
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