The familiar Mercator projection, developed by Gerardus Mercator in 1569, has long been used because of its usefulness for navigation. However, it also distorts the apparent size of landmasses, particularly those farther from the Equator. This is why Greenland can appear almost as large as Africa on a traditional map, even though Africa is roughly 14 times larger than Greenland.
The proposed Equal Earth projection is designed to show the relative area of continents more accurately. Africa and South America appear closer to their true proportions, while Greenland, Europe and North America appear smaller than they do on the Mercator map. In other words, the geography is not changing—the way we see it is.
The US was the only country to vote against the proposal. Its representative questioned whether the United Nations should prioritise the issue, arguing that the organisation should focus on more pressing global challenges. India was among the countries supporting the proposal.
The move does not mean Google Maps or other digital mapping services will immediately change. The Mercator projection is not being banned, and different projections remain useful for different purposes. However, the UN-backed initiative could encourage wider use of maps that represent the relative size of continents more accurately.
The world isn't changing. Our map of the world might.
