UN General Assembly Approves Resolution Promoting Equal Earth Map Projection

The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution recommending the use of the Equal Earth projection, or equivalent equal area maps, over the traditional Mercator projection. The resolution passed with 164 votes in favor, six abstentions, and one vote against. The United States was the sole country to oppose the measure, describing it as a radical ideological project. The resolution is non binding and encourages governments, schools, international organizations, and technology companies to use equal area maps when relative size is important. It also suggests teaching the trade offs involved in depicting a spherical planet on a flat surface.

The movement was driven by a campaign from the African Union and other countries using anti imperialist and anti colonialist discourse. The Mercator projection, developed in 1569, is criticized for distorting the size of landmasses by enlarging areas far from the equator. For example, Africa appears similar in size to Greenland despite being 14 times larger. One study suggests these visual distortions can have geopolitical implications, such as influencing perceptions of proposals to purchase Greenland.

Despite the resolution, experts suggest that popular navigation apps like Google Maps and Apple Maps are unlikely to abandon the Mercator projection. The projection remains highly practical for maritime navigation because it allows for straight lines consistent with compass bearings. In digital applications, it facilitates coordinate calculations and zooming. While the Equal Earth projection provides more accurate relative sizes of continents, it distorts shapes, distances, and directions.