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Arno Peters

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description Arno Peters Overview

Arno Peters was a German historian and filmmaker who lived from 1916 to 2002. He promoted the equal-area Peters world map, presented in 1973, which preserves relative area while altering the shapes of landmasses; the design closely resembles the earlier Gall projection and became the subject of sustained cartographic controversy. He is relevant to the history of map projection and debates about how world maps represent geographic space.

help Arno Peters FAQ

Who was Arno Peters?

Arno Peters was a German historian and filmmaker who lived from 1916 to 2002. He became widely known for promoting an equal-area world map.

What is the Peters projection?

The Peters map is an equal-area projection presented by Peters in 1973. It preserves relative area while changing the shapes of continents and countries.

Why does the Peters map look different from many classroom world maps?

It gives equal regions equal relative area, so landmasses are stretched into different shapes. The design closely resembles the earlier Gall projection.

When did Arno Peters present his world map?

Peters presented the equal-area map in 1973. His version became part of wider debates about how world maps represent the size of different regions.