The way we visualize the world is undergoing a potential shift as the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) moves to address long-standing geographic inaccuracies. On Friday, the assembly voted 164 to 1 in favor of a resolution that encourages the adoption of the Equal Earth projection, a mapping method that displays continents in their true proportions.
For centuries, the Mercator projection has dominated classroom walls and digital atlases. Designed in 1569 by cartographer Gerardus Mercator to assist 16th-century maritime navigation, the map prioritizes straight bearings and angles. However, this design choice creates significant size distortions that increase toward the poles. On a standard Mercator map, Greenland appears comparable in size to Africa, even though the African continent is actually about 14 times larger. This bias consistently inflates the appearance of Europe, Russia, and North America while diminishing regions like Africa, Latin America, and South Asia.
Map Implementation and Voting Details
- Map quiz: Test your knowledge by picking the larger country between two regions.
- See it for yourself: Use the interactive tool to watch how countries morph from the Mercator projection to the Equal Earth model to visualize the actual scale.
- How did countries vote: The resolution passed with 164 votes in favor, while the United States cast the sole dissenting vote. Serbia, Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, and Ukraine abstained.
The resolution was spearheaded by Togo on behalf of the African Group, which represents 54 African Union member states. Togo’s Foreign Minister, Robert Dussey, emphasized that maps influence education and collective perception, arguing that the shift to Equal Earth affirms the reality of the African continent. The African Union officially adopted the Equal Earth projection in March, and Togo is organizing a meeting in Lome early next year with UNESCO, the African Union, and technology firms like Google to discuss practical implementation.
Despite the overwhelming support, the United States opposed the measure. US representative Yaryna Ferencevych characterized the resolution as a “radical ideological project” and stated that it is “the reason this institution is losing its credibility.” She further remarked that the UN should focus on contemporary global challenges rather than debating 16th-century map designs.
The UN has clarified that the resolution is nonbinding and does not ban the use of the Mercator projection. Instead, it serves as a recommendation for schools, institutions, and technology companies to utilize the Equal Earth projection to provide a more honest comparison of landmasses. While all flat maps involve some degree of distortion—whether in shape, area, distance, or direction—the Equal Earth projection prioritizes accurate area representation, accepting slightly curved outlines as a trade-off to ensure continents are compared fairly. The report also notes that consisting of 54 African Union member states, the African Group is the largest regional voting and dialogue bloc at the UN. The report also notes that a cartographer and geographer who published the world map in 1569, chose to preserve angles and straight bearings, a trade-off that made sense for 16th-century ships but has kept shaping perceptions of, gerardus Mercator.
