The Albers Equal-Area Projection is a map projection designed to represent areas accurately. It preserves the proportional size of landmasses, making it useful for thematic maps where area comparison is essential. This projection is typically used for regions that are elongated east-west, such as continents. Developed by Hermann Heinrich Albers in the 19th century, the projection uses two standard parallels to minimize distortion. While it maintains area fidelity, it does distort shapes and distances, especially away from the standard parallels. This makes it ideal for displaying statistical data where area representation is crucial.