How to use the Mapping tool

What is the mapping tool?

The Mapping tool allows you to create a choropleth map. A choropleth map shows differences by using shading or colours. Using this tool means that you can create your own map quickly and easily.

How do I navigate around the map?

The small window in the top left is a navigation panel. You need to click on the ‘zoom’ button to activate the panel so that you can use it. Click on and drag the red frame in the panel to explore different parts of the world map. You can ‘zoom in’ and ‘zoom out’ of the world map by using the zoom button. To use the navigation panel you need to check that the zoom button appears as ‘zoom out’.

How do I colour the countries?

Click on a colour to select it and then click on a country to make it appear that colour. The ‘selected’ box shows you the latest colour that you have chosen. You can colour the countries from both the ‘zoom out’ and ‘zoom in’ views.

How do I work out which country is which?

You will need to have a separate map with the labels of different countries on it. You could also use the internet to find an online atlas or individual maps that show country locations.

What if I’ve coloured a country in the wrong colour?

Change the colour of a country by selecting a new colour and clicking on that country again. To change the colour of a country back to white, you can select ‘No data’. To remove all colour from the map, use the ‘clear all’ button.

What if I want to print my map?

To tell the countries apart, you will need to print the map in colour. Check to see if you have either a colour printer or cartridge before printing. Then click the ‘print’ button.

What if I want to save a copy of the map?

To keep a copy of your map, take a screen grab. You will need to be in the ‘zoom out’ view first to get the whole map. There are downloadable screen grab tools on the internet such as ‘WinSnap’ that you could use. Use search words such as, ‘free downloads’, ‘WinSnap’ etc.

Which countries can I colour on the map?

162 countries can be mapped using the Mapping tool. Most of the data provided to you in this resource comes from the Human Development Report 2006. If you find more up-to-date data from later versions of this report, it is handy to know that these countries can’t be coloured using the Mapping tool. This is mainly because of their very small size, e.g. small Pacific islands.

These countries include:

·  Antigua and Barbuda

·  Bahamas

·  Bahrain

·  Barbados

·  Cape Verde

·  Comoros

·  Timor-Leste (East Timor)

·  Luxembourg

·  Maldives

·  Malta

·  Mauritius

·  Saint Kitts and Nevis

·  Sao Tome and Principe

·  Seychelles

·  Singapore

·  Togo

·  Tonga

·  Trinidad and Tobago

·  Vanuatu

Included in the Human Development Report 2006 are Hong Kong, China (SAR) and the Occupied Palestinian Territories which are not separate countries.

It is also useful to know that the following countries can be coloured using the Mapping tool, but you won’t find them in any data in the Human Development Report (at least not in the 2006 version).

These countries are:

·  French Guiana

·  Western Sahara

·  Liberia

·  Somalia

·  Iraq

·  Afghanistan

·  Montenegro

·  Slovenia

You will also find that sometimes there is no data for some countries. Can you suggest any reasons for this?

If you are using more up-to-date data from the Human Development Report, some country names can be slightly different compared to the names you see on most maps.

Country name as it appears on most maps / Country name as it appears in the Human Development Report 2006
Bosnia-Herzegovina / Bosnia and Herzegovina
Burkina / Burkina Faso
Libya / Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Democratic Republic of the Congo / Congo, Dem.Rep. of the
Tanzania / Tanzania, U.Rep.of
Syria / Syrian Arab Republic
Iran / Iran, Islamic Rep.of
Laos / Lao People’s Dem.Rep.
Brunei / Brunei Darussalam
North Korea / Korea, Rep.of
Moldova / Moldova, Rep of
Macedonia / Macedonia, TFYR