Though there are around 40 types of map projections, from conical to polyhedral and retroazimuthal, depicting the true size of the world, this one is still used the most because of its convenience ...

Mercator maps, for example, flatten the round globe into a two-dimensional projection that significantly alters the sizes (and even shapes) of continents, countries, and bodies of water. As a result, ...

Maps have often misrepresented the real sizes of developing nations, portraying them as smaller than more developed nations.