Definition, Meaning & Synonyms

cartogram

Noun

/ˈkɑːtəˌɡræm/

Definition

A cartogram is a type of map in which the geometry of the map is distorted in order to convey the information of an alternate variable, such as population, income, or other statistical data.

Examples

A population cartogram can show how many people live in each country by resizing the countries based on their population.
In a cartogram depicting election results, the size of each state may be adjusted based on the number of electoral votes.
Researchers used a cartogram to represent the data on global warming, making the most affected areas appear larger.

Meaning

It visually represents data by altering the size of geographical areas to reflect the value of the variable being mapped, rather than their actual physical size.