Our last type of map is a world map. With its name pretty much being its definition, a world map is a map of most or all of the surface of the Earth. With this in mind, world maps can also be population maps, topographic maps, political maps, or even weather maps. If they're showing most or all of our world, they get the honor of being world maps. Lesson Summary. There are many types of maps used to interpret the world around us. There are topographic maps.