GallPeters

The Gall-Peters projection is a world map projection in the cylindrical equal-area family. It preserves land area so that the size of continents and countries on the map reflects their actual areas on Earth, providing a counterpoint to the distortion commonly seen in the Mercator projection.

The projection is named for James Gall, who described an equal-area cylindrical projection in the 19th century, and Arno Peters, who popularized a form of it in 1974. The combined term “Gall-Peters” acknowledges both contributions and is used in discussions of its design and implications.

As a cylindrical equal-area projection, it keeps areas true but distorts shapes and distances. Meridians are straight vertical lines and parallels are straight horizontal lines, but the vertical spacing between parallels is not proportional to latitude. This results in continent shapes that are stretched or compressed, particularly toward the poles; for example, Africa and South America may appear elongated north–south compared with their true shapes, while the equator is represented more accurately in area.

Reception of the Gall-Peters projection has been mixed. Proponents argue that it offers a more proportionate view of landmasses and challenges Eurocentric bias in map displays. Critics contend that the projection introduces significant shape distortion and can mislead readers about geographic relationships, such as proximity and orientation. Today it remains one of several alternative projections used in education, media, and GIS to illustrate the trade-offs involved in map design.

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