https://news.un.org/en/story/2026/09/1168284
The UN General Assembly has endorsed a resolution (164-1 votes) “promoting map projections that more accurately reflect the true size of continents.” The United States cast the sole vote against, dismissing the initiative as part of a “radical ideological project.” Six countries – Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia and Ukraine – abstained.
Maps shape our understanding of the world … They guide education, nourish the imagination, & influence collective perceptions.”
Gerardus Mercator, a Flemish cartographer, devised his projection in 1569 to solve a practical problem of maritime navigation. Because straight lines on his map correspond to constant compass directions, sailors could use it to plot their courses … But preserving direction came at the expense of area. Landmasses appear increasingly enlarged the farther they are from the Equator. North America, Russia & Europe appeared much bigger than Africa, South America & South Asia. Greenland for instance can look roughly comparable in size to Africa, even though Africa is about 14 times larger.
The resolution describes correcting such distortions as an act of “cognitive justice and memorial reparation” and points to Equal Earth, developed in 2018, as a projection that more accurately represents relative size.
Mercator distorts area, particularly toward the poles. Africa’s land area exceeds 30 million km2 – more than 14 times the size of Greenland – making it the world’s second-largest continent. The Equal Earth projection, developed in 2018 by cartographers Bojan Savric, Tom Patterson & Bernhard Jenny, preserves these true proportions.
A fair map does not change the geography of the world, it changes how we see the world.
The maps that we use shape the way we see/view & think about the world & countries/continents/people groups, it’s all about perspective.
