cartogram

American  

[kahr-tuh-gram] / ˈkɑr təˌgræm /

noun

1. a diagrammatic presentation in highly abstracted or simplified form, commonly of statistical data, on a map base or distorted map base.

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cartogram British  

/ ˈkɑːtəˌɡræm /

noun

1. a map showing statistical information in diagrammatic form

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Etymology

Origin of cartogram

From the French word cartogramme, dating back to 1885–90. See carte, -o-, -gram ¹

Explanation

A cartogram turns a map into a graphic representation of facts and numbers associated with different countries or regions. As an example, to dramatically show which countries on a continent have the largest populations, a cartogram might distort the relative sizes of each country. Those with larger populations are made to appear larger in comparison to those with smaller populations — despite their actual relative sizes. In this way, the map is changed into a picture that conveys specific information about the places, showing different populations as the sizes of the countries. Cartograms may have odd-looking shapes and dimensions, but they can be a good way to show important information.

Example Sentences

Take a look at Campaign Zero's policing reform legislative cartogram.

From Salon • Jun. 9, 2020

A far better solution would be to use a conformal population cartogram.

From New York Times • Oct. 18, 2016

The map above is a cartogram of Slate Plus members, meaning that each state is scaled so that its area is in proportion to the number of Slate Plus members.

From Slate • Oct. 21, 2014

The cartogram below shows U.S. arms deliveries worldwide for 2015, which amounted to $21.9 billion.

From Washington Post

FiveThirtyEight uses hexagonal tiles to create the cartogram below.

From National Geographic