Accurately Compare Geographic Areas with Geopandas

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QUICK SUCCESS DATA SCIENCE

Filling maps with area measurements

An outline map of Texas partially filled from left to right with a salmon color.
A map of Texas color-filled with the area of Ukraine (by the author)

I previously wrote an article on how to compare the sizes of geographical regions, such as countries and states, by overlaying their maps. Here’s an example using the state of Texas and the country of Ukraine:

An outline map of Texas overlain with a pink-colored map of Ukraine.
Superimposed maps of Texas and Ukraine (by the author)

This approach is effective, except when regions have significantly different shapes. For instance, in the following figure, which is larger: Chile or Texas?

An outline map of Texas overlain with a pink-colored polygon representing the outline of Chile.
Superimposed maps of Texas and Chile (by the author)

This issue led Medium member Anurag to leave the following (paraphrased) comment on the article:

“Is it possible to fill the area of other countries with the area of Texas? Unlike just overlapping the two countries on top of each other. I think it would be easier to observe and understand.”

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