The United Nations General Assembly has supported the expanded use of a world map that more accurately reflects the true sizes of continents and countries.
Modern.az reports that in a vote held on September 4, 164 countries voted in favor of the relevant resolution. The United States voted against the document, and 6 countries remained neutral.
The discussion is about replacing the Mercator projection, widely used since the 16th century, with the “Equal Earth” map. The Mercator map shows areas near the poles larger than their actual size, and areas near the equator, especially Africa, smaller.
For example, on a traditional map, Greenland appears to be roughly the same size as Africa. In reality, Africa is approximately 14 times larger than Greenland.
In the “Equal Earth” projection, Africa, South America, and other equatorial regions are shown more accurately to their real sizes. Russia, Canada, the USA, and European countries appear smaller compared to the Mercator map.
The new map does not change the political borders and territories of countries. The change only applies to the method of depicting the Earth on a flat surface.
The resolution is not binding. The document calls on states, educational institutions, international organizations, media, and technology companies to use maps that accurately represent areas.
The “Equal Earth” projection is not newly developed. The map was created in 2018, and the UN has now supported its expanded use.
