National atlases are defined as comprehensive, complete, practice oriented atlases with uniform scale maps covering broad range of topics which are useful for general public, usually containing explanatory texts, statistical charts and graphics. Primary aim of national atlases evolved from embracing (often newly reestablished) nations, serving as a tool of political propaganda, for purposes of higher education or practical use for general planing. National atlases are often very complex works that required large amount of effort to be completed and thus new editions were usually published after several decades (instead of years in case of general world atlases), often published on certain occasions which became important milestones in the development of the nation.
Regional atlases, unlike national atlases, usually concentrate on describing regions defined by geographical or geopolitical circumstances.
