Is Equal Earth Projection Map Necessary?

Yes, the Equal Earth Projection map is necessary because it is a world map style that shows the true relative sizes of landmasses while keeping a balanced, natural look.

Whereas on the other hand the Mercator map accommodates for the curvature of the Earth by making countries near the equator seem smaller than they are, with countries nearer the poles appearing larger.

In an effort to address this, a team of cartographers Bojan Šavrič of the Environmental Systems Research Institute, Bernhard Jenny of Monash University, and Tom Patterson of the US National Park Service invented Equal Earth projection map in 2018.

Older maps like the Mercator Projection make places near the poles look much bigger than they are. Other equal-area maps like the Gall-Peters projection stretch shapes out awkwardly. The Equal Earth projection solves both problems by preserving true area with more natural shapes.

“The Mercator Projection preserves local shapes and angles at the expense of true land sizes, whereas the Equal Earth projection preserves the true relative surface areas of continents and, as much as possible, shows their shapes as they appear on a globe,” cartographer Bojan Savric told the AFP news agency in 2025.

In February, the AU’s 54 member states adopted it, and said it “more accurately represents the sizes of all continents, particularly Africa”. Online campaign group #CorrectTheMap said: “You could fit the United States, China, India, Japan, Mexico and much of Europe into Africa and still have land to spare.”

On Friday, the 04th September 2026, the resolution aimed at “a more accurate representation” of continental landmasses on the globe was supported by 164 countries, while the United States voted against it and six other states abstained.

The UN resolution encourages governments and institutions worldwide to adopt the Equal Earth projection. The UN has urged member states to adopt a new map in place of the centuries-old, traditional Mercator projection, which was designed for maritime navigation by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569.

That projection focused on accurate depictions of the shapes and angles of land masses, but their relative sizes were often inaccurate – in part because of the challenge of rendering a three-dimensional globe onto a two-dimensional surface.

It inflated northern regions and compressed equatorial ones, making Europe and North America appear much larger, while shrinking Africa and South America. Friday’s resolution is not binding, but is intended to encourage changes to maps used by default around the world.

The UN said in its report that it is not banning the Mercator projection or imposing a replacement, but is merely encouraging the use of the Equal Earth projection.

Content for this question contributed by Pamela Serena, resident of Taunton, Bristol County, Massachussets, USA