It looks to me like that was done to make the differences more visible. Otherwise, you wouldn't be able to perceive at all some of the more subtle differences among countries. I still think you're grasping at justifications for an initial assumption that wasn't really supported by the page. I think that even more because I'm inclined to the same point of view you are, but didn't get that impression at all from the bare-bones visualization shared.

EDIT: Never mind, I didn't see the opening animation or the header and footer, because I opened it in another tab and didn't realize you could scroll the page. You're completely right and I'm an idiot.