The United Nations General Assembly has approved the Equal Earth cartographic projection, a move intended to offer a more accurate representation of the world's land masses. This decision will result in countries appearing larger or smaller and sometimes tilted differently than on the commonly used Mercator projection. Australia, for instance, will appear bigger and slightly tilted to the right on the new maps.
The UN is urging member states to adopt this new projection, which aims to counteract the distortions inherent in the Mercator projection, a system created in 1569. While the Mercator projection preserves familiar coastlines and directions, it significantly stretches countries located closer to the North and South Poles, exaggerating their perceived size. The Equal Earth projection, in contrast, endeavors to depict countries closer to their true scale, though this can alter their shapes and relative sizes.
Following the announcement, the visual alterations, particularly to Australia's shape, generated lighthearted reactions on social media platforms like Reddit, with users making jokes about the country appearing "italicized" or resembling a pizza box. However, criticism has also been directed at the UN's decision.
Some observers have questioned the prioritization of map redrawing amidst more pressing global issues such as hunger, natural disasters, and conflict resolution. Critics expressed concern that focusing on a 16th-century map projection detracts from efforts to address substantial worldwide problems.
Under the Equal Earth projection, continents like Africa, Latin America, and parts of Asia are depicted as larger, while Europe and North America appear smaller. This contrasts with the Mercator projection, which often gave disproportionate visual prominence to regions like the United States, Russia, and China, and made Greenland appear nearly as large as Africa.
The UN motion garnered support from 164 member states, with six abstentions. Notably, the United States was the sole country to vote against the adoption of the new projection. The US representative argued that more pressing issues should be the focus of the body's deliberations, rather than debating historical map projects and their role in promoting "reparations and cognitive justice."
Robert Dussey, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Togo, who championed the proposal, stated that maps significantly influence how younger generations perceive the world. He emphasized that maps are not neutral and can perpetuate inaccurate representations across generations if they present a distorted view of the planet. France has already declared its intention to switch from the Mercator projection to the Equal Earth projection, with Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot asserting that while changing maps does not alter the world itself, correcting a distorted representation is an "act of truth."
