The United Nations General Assembly has approved a resolution supporting the wider use and promotion of the Equal Earth map projection, in a move aimed at presenting the relative sizes of the world's continents more accurately.
India was among the countries that supported the resolution. The decision has renewed international attention on the way the Earth's surface is represented on flat maps and the distortions that can occur when a three-dimensional planet is displayed on a two-dimensional surface.
Why Is the Current World Map Being Questioned?
For decades, the Mercator projection has been one of the most widely recognised ways of displaying the world. It has been particularly useful for navigation because it preserves directions in a practical way.
However, the projection significantly distorts the size of land areas as locations move farther from the Equator. Regions close to the North and South Poles can appear much larger than their actual area.
As a result, places such as Greenland and parts of Europe and North America can look disproportionately large compared with regions closer to the Equator.
What Is the Equal Earth Projection?
The Equal Earth projection was designed to provide a more balanced representation of the actual area of continents and countries.
Unlike projections that significantly enlarge areas near the poles, Equal Earth is an equal-area projection. This means that the relative area of different parts of the world is represented more accurately on the map.
On an Equal Earth map, Africa appears much closer to its true relative size compared with Europe and North America. The shape of countries and continents can still look different from a globe, because every flat map necessarily involves some form of distortion.
Africa Appears Much Larger
One of the most noticeable differences is the appearance of Africa.
Africa is the world's second-largest continent by land area, but on many commonly used world maps its size can appear smaller in comparison with northern regions.
With the Equal Earth projection, Africa occupies a much larger share of the map, providing a visual representation that is closer to its actual area.
Europe and North America, meanwhile, appear smaller relative to Africa than they do on the traditional Mercator projection.
India Supports the Resolution
India voted in favour of the UN resolution. The move comes as countries continue to discuss how geographical information should be represented in educational material, public maps and international communication.
The resolution reflects an effort to encourage more accurate and balanced geographical representation rather than replacing every existing map projection with a single mandatory alternative.
This Is Not a Mandatory New World Map
A key point about the UN decision is that it does not mean the Equal Earth projection has suddenly become the world's only official map.
The General Assembly resolution is intended to promote the use of more accurate area-based map projections. Countries, educational institutions and other organisations can continue to use different projections depending on their specific requirements.
Mercator, for example, continues to have important practical applications, particularly in navigation and mapping where preserving direction is more important than accurately representing land area.
Countries Are Not Actually Changing Size
The change in appearance on an Equal Earth map does not mean that the physical size of any country or continent has changed.
The Earth's surface remains exactly the same. What changes is the mathematical method used to transfer the curved surface of the planet onto a flat map.
That is why Africa may look considerably larger on one projection and smaller on another, even though its actual geographical area remains unchanged.
Why Map Projections Matter
Map projections can influence how people understand geography. A map used in classrooms, news reports or public information can shape people's visual perception of the relative size and importance of different parts of the world.
Supporters of Equal Earth argue that an equal-area projection can provide students and the wider public with a better understanding of the actual geographical scale of different continents.
At the same time, cartographers point out that no flat map can perfectly preserve every geographical property. A projection may preserve area, shape, distance or direction, but compromises are generally unavoidable when representing a spherical planet on a flat surface.
What Happens Next?
The UN resolution is expected to encourage governments, schools and organisations to consider equal-area projections when geographical accuracy of land size is important.
Whether Equal Earth becomes more widely used will ultimately depend on individual countries, educational institutions, mapmakers and other organisations.
Conclusion
The UN General Assembly's support for the Equal Earth projection marks an important development in the long-running debate over how the world should be represented on maps.
India has supported the initiative, which aims to encourage maps that present the relative area of continents more accurately.
However, the decision does not abolish the Mercator projection or establish Equal Earth as a single mandatory world map. Different projections will continue to serve different purposes, while Equal Earth could become more common wherever accurate representation of land area is the priority.
Reported by: Vijay Singh