The 10 Best World Atlases

Serious map readers who want the most detail in one book should look at the Times Comprehensive Atlas. The 2023 edition indexes more than 200,000 place names and picks up new ones such as Eswatini, North Macedonia and K'gari in Australia. Its maps run on from page to page, so neighboring regions line up as you turn. It comes in a slipcase with ribbon markers. It uses British spelling and is far too heavy to read on your lap.

National Geographic Atlas of the World is the society's flagship reference, and it comes in a protective slipcase with a ribbon bookmark. More than 300 maps and graphics cover every country, the oceans and the poles, and a space section adds star charts and lunar maps. The world maps use a projection that keeps continents close to their true shapes. This edition dates from 2019, and some copies have arrived with the opening pages printed upside down.

For a household that wants one atlas for homework, trip planning and settling arguments, the National Geographic Family Reference Atlas sits in a sensible middle. Every country gets its own map, flag and key facts, plus small maps on people and the environment. Short sections on climate change, migration, languages and the internet sit beside the reference maps, with lots of photos. Its population and economic figures date from 2020 and are starting to age.

Buyers who want a current atlas without paying folio prices should consider the Collins World Atlas Complete Edition. Its 2024 revision changed more than 2,000 place names, with big updates in Ukraine, Kazakhstan and New Zealand, and it adds new flags and currencies. The regional maps are clearly shaded, and ranking tables in the back make countries quick to compare. British spelling and a European slant can take some getting used to.

Teenagers writing reports get a lot out of the DK Reference World Atlas, which its publisher bills as an encyclopedia in an atlas. Alongside the maps sit 3D terrain models, diagrams and short notes on each region's economy, culture and people. The index lists more than 80,000 places, and the 2021 revision uses current country names such as Eswatini. Its statistics come from that revision, so check population figures online before quoting them.

A large paperback keeps the price of the National Geographic Concise Atlas low without dropping the basics. It covers every continent and the United States with physical and political maps, flags and facts for all 195 countries, and a short space section with the moon and Mars. The 2022 edition is fairly current. The soft cover bends and wears faster than a hardcover, and the maps show less local detail.

A desk-friendly hardcover, the Oxford New Concise World Atlas pairs topographic and political maps with satellite images and seafloor maps. Its index covers about 64,000 places, which helps when an unfamiliar town turns up in the news. Oxford updated roads, railways, airports and national parks for this sixth edition, published in 2021. It uses British spelling, and its world statistics are now several years old.

Meant as much for the coffee table as the bookshelf, the National Geographic Visual Atlas sets more than 200 maps beside hundreds of the society's photographs and satellite images. Spreads on World Heritage sites and views from space make it a good book to browse with guests. It's heavy and oversized, so it needs a table. Printed in 2017, it predates Swaziland's renaming as Eswatini, and it works best as a display piece.

History fans who think in maps will enjoy History of the World Map by Map, published with the Smithsonian. It follows people from the first migrations out of Africa through the Mongol conquests, the age of empires and the world wars, with about 140 maps, timelines and short text panels. Peter Snow wrote the foreword. It shows the past, not today's borders, so it works best beside a current world atlas.

Kids around seven to nine can start with DK Children's Illustrated Atlas, made with the Smithsonian. More than 50 bright maps use little pictures of animals, foods and landmarks, and early pages teach how to read a key, a compass and a scale. A world map poster comes with it. The maps are simplified, so older children doing real research will outgrow it quickly.