About the project
Place comparisons with the sources in view
Atlas Compare is a map-first reference tool for comparing supported countries and U.S. states. It puts the map beside the figures and links each sourced value to its publisher.
What the site compares
This release includes 196 country profiles, 51 U.S. comparison places, and reference maps of 145 countries' first-level divisions across Africa, Asia, and Europe. The main atlas supports two-, four-, or five-place comparisons; each country region map has a two-division outline-size comparison.
For country and U.S.-state profiles, the numeric measures are sourced land area and population, with density calculated from those inputs. The international regional explorer reports only approximate outline-derived area estimates, not official regional statistics.
Maps and sources
Country outlines are generated from Natural Earth geographic data. U.S. state outlines use Census TIGER/Line files. The site draws these local vector outlines in the browser; they are not satellite imagery, legal surveys, or navigation guidance.
Population and land-area values come from the publishers linked beside each number. See the methodology page for datasets, dates, calculations, and known limitations.
How to read a comparison
A figure is only as comparable as its geography, definition, and date. Atlas Compare keeps source values separate from calculations and does not turn them into an overall score. The site does not recommend places or provide personal legal, financial, education, health, safety, or relocation advice.
International first-level maps use a generalized Natural Earth beta layer. Their coverage and boundary hierarchy may be incomplete or dated; two supported countries have no matching division layer in this snapshot. The maps do not provide comparable regional population or social indicators. City data is a limited U.S. pilot, not comprehensive coverage. We will publish a new measure only after its source, geographic unit, date, and definition can be checked.