UN urges use of Equal Earth map for more accurate world representation

New York (ANTARA) - The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution encouraging countries, international organisations, and other entities to expand the use of the Equal Earth map projection, which more accurately depicts the size of continents, especially Africa.

“The General Assembly… encourages Member States, international organisations, and other related entities to adopt, disseminate, and use the Equal Earth cartographic projection and equal-area mapping methods, which more accurately represent the actual area of continents when the size of a region is important,” the resolution stated.

The Equal Earth map is considered more accurate in depicting the size of all continents, particularly Africa. However, the resolution acknowledged that no single projection can perfectly transfer the Earth’s curved surface onto a flat plane.

The resolution noted that the Mercator projection, developed in the 16th century for navigation, is still widely used in educational materials, media, digital platforms, and official documents.

Nevertheless, this projection significantly distorts the size of regions located far from the equator.

According to the resolution, this condition contributes to “diminishing the perception of the size of Africa, Latin America, and South Asia, as well as perpetuating an unbalanced worldview.”

The document describes this inherited continental size distortion as a form of historical bias that affects educational, cultural, geopolitical, and socio-economic spheres.

A total of 164 countries, including Russia, supported the resolution titled “Correct the Map: Rebalancing Global Cartographic Representation and Promoting Equitable Representation of the World’s Regions, Particularly Africa.”

The United States opposed the resolution, while six other countries chose to abstain.

The UN General Assembly resolution does not have legally binding power.