Why the United Nations is Supporting a New World Map
The United Nations recently backed a resolution supporting a new map projection called Equal Earth that shows countries and continents in their true sizes. This decision challenges the traditional Mercator map, which makes regions near the poles look much larger than they actually are.
In short: The United Nations recently backed a resolution supporting a new map projection called Equal Earth that shows countries and continents in their true sizes. This decision challenges the traditional Mercator map, which makes regions near the poles look much larger than they actually are.
For more than four hundred years, a single map style has dominated classrooms and navigation tools worldwide, yet it has been quietly distorting the true sizes of our continents.
What happened, in plain words
Following a campaign led by African countries, the United Nations voted 164 to 1 in favor of a resolution promoting the Equal Earth map projection. Created in 2018 by cartographers Tom Patterson, Bojan Šavrič, and Bernhard Jenny, this new map portrays countries and continents at their actual sizes. The traditional map used for centuries, known as the Mercator Projection, was designed in 1569 by Gerardus Mercator to help sailors navigate the seas. Because our planet is round like a ball, flattening it onto a page stretches the areas near the poles, making places in the north and south look much bigger than they really are.
Key points
- A historic vote at the United Nations The United Nations passed a resolution by a 164-1 vote promoting the Equal Earth map, following a push by African nations. The United States was the only country that voted against the resolution.
- The problem with the old map Created in 1569, the Mercator Projection makes countries near the poles appear much larger than they truly are. For instance, Alaska looks bigger than Mexico, and Scandinavia can appear larger than India.
- Why the old map was useful The Mercator map was built to help sailors navigate by keeping compass directions straight. Today, modified versions are still used by tools like Google Maps to help people find local streets.
- Africa's true scale The new Equal Earth map shows Africa at its actual size of 30.4 million square kilometers, or 11.7 million square miles, proving it is about 14 times larger than Greenland.
Terms explained
- Cartographer — A person who creates and draws maps. Example: A cartographer carefully designs lines and borders to show where rivers, countries, and mountains belong on a page.
- Mercator Projection — A specific type of flat world map created in the 16th century that keeps navigation angles correct but stretches out the sizes of lands near the top and bottom of the world. Example: On a Mercator map, Greenland looks just as massive as the entire continent of Africa, even though Africa is actually much larger.
- Equal Earth — A map projection introduced in 2018 that displays the relative sizes of countries and continents accurately without the extreme stretching found near the poles. Example: The Equal Earth map correctly shows that Canada and China are roughly the same size.
Why it matters
Maps shape how people view the importance and scale of different countries and regions. Experts note that shifting to a more accurate map helps correct visual misinformation and highlights the true global presence of the African continent, which will house the world's only growing population by the year 2100.
What we still don't know
The U.S. voted against the United Nations resolution, and the resolution itself is not binding, meaning it does not ban the Mercator map. Additionally, the traditional map remains deeply ingrained in people's habits and continues to be useful for digital street navigation.
Based on reporting from Harvard Gazette. This is an independent explainer, written in our own words with AI assistance; Harvard Gazette has not reviewed or endorsed it. Read the original for the full details.