The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a resolution urging the use of an alternative world map that seeks to correct distortions in the long-established Mercator projection, most notably the underrepresentation of the size of Africa compared with territories near the poles.
Historic map under scrutiny
The Mercator projection, created in 1569 by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator, was designed to help sailors navigate oceans by preserving compass bearings on a flat chart. Its utility for navigation made it the dominant reference for centuries and it remains the basis for many maps seen in classrooms, on television and online, including some implementations used by major mapping services.
"He wanted a straight line to be drawn on a map to look like a straight line in reality if you followed a compass bearing," said Professor James Cheshire of University College London, reflecting the projection's original purpose.
To preserve angles and bearings on a two‑dimensional sheet, the Mercator projection expands areas progressively away from the equator. The consequence is systemic: territories near the poles appear much larger than they are relative to equatorial regions. The General Assembly's resolution, referred to as "Correct the Map", explicitly highlights the mismatch between the Mercator depiction and true area — for example, showing Greenland as roughly similar in size to Africa, despite Africa being about 14 times larger in reality.
Adoption of the Equal Earth projection
The UN has recommended the use of the Equal Earth projection as an alternative. The Equal Earth projection was endorsed by the Assembly because it offers a better visual representation of landmass areas while retaining a familiar oval shape for world maps. The resolution seeks to promote maps that more faithfully reflect the relative sizes of continents and countries in educational and official contexts.
Supporters argue the change addresses a long-standing educational and perceptual problem: when commonly used maps systematically downplay the scale of equatorial regions, that can affect how people perceive geography, history and global importance. Critics and cartographers, however, note that every flat projection involves trade-offs — no single projection can preserve all geographic properties simultaneously — and that the Equal Earth option brings its own compromises.
- Mercator (1569): preserves angles and compass bearings; distorts area, especially towards the poles.
- Equal Earth: designed to better reflect true land area proportions; favoured by the UN resolution for official and educational uses.
- Practical trade-offs: different projections prioritise different properties (area, shape, distance, direction), so choices depend on purpose.
| Feature | Mercator | Equal Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Primary strength | Angle/compass bearing preservation | Area representation |
| Typical use | Navigation, many traditional classroom maps | Thematic and educational world maps |
| Noted distortion | Inflates polar regions, underrepresents equatorial areas | Maintains better area proportionality, some shape distortion |
The UN text does not mandate a single global standard; instead it calls on member states, educational institutions and mapmakers to consider projections that more accurately represent landmass sizes when producing maps for public use. The resolution recognises that changing widely used materials and digital interfaces will be gradual and that different contexts may require different projections.
Implications and remaining questions
The decision is largely symbolic but potentially influential. Education ministries, atlases, broadcasters and digital mapping platforms may review their default map choices and accompanying explanatory material. Wider adoption could alter the visual cues millions use when learning geography, possibly affecting perceptions about the scale and significance of regions such as Africa, South America and Southeast Asia.
At the same time, cartographers stress prudence. The assertion that a single projection can be a universal fix is misleading: map design is inherently about selecting which distortions are acceptable for a given purpose. The Equal Earth projection addresses area distortion more faithfully than Mercator, but it is not neutral and will not remove all visual biases from global representations.
For now, the UN resolution places the debate over map projections firmly in the public eye and encourages institutions to be explicit about the choices behind the maps they display. That transparency, proponents argue, is as important as any single technical change.
