Equal Earth Projection: UN Resolution, Mercator & Key Facts
Why in News?
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) approved an African-led resolution on 4 September 2026 promoting maps that represent the relative sizes of continents more accurately. The resolution, led by Togo and backed by the African Union, promotes the Equal Earth projection over the widely used Mercator projection for educational and public mapping. It passed with 164 votes in favour, 1 against and 6 abstentions. The United States cast the only opposing vote. The resolution is not legally binding. It does not prohibit Mercator maps, particularly where they remain useful for navigation.
Mercator Projection
The Mercator projection was developed by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569. It is a conformal map projection. It preserves local angles and directions, making it highly useful for marine navigation. However, it significantly distorts the area of landmasses as latitude increases. For example, Greenland appears nearly comparable in size to Africa on many Mercator maps. In reality, Africa is about 14 times larger than Greenland.
Equal Earth Projection
The Equal Earth projection was introduced in 2018. It is an equal-area projection, meaning it preserves the relative areas of continents and countries more accurately. This makes Equal Earth particularly suitable for:
- School geography textbooks
- Educational maps
- Thematic maps
- Public information materials
- Global geographical comparisons
The projection aims to provide a more balanced visual representation of the world’s landmasses.
UN Resolution and African Initiative
Togo led the resolution as part of a wider African campaign to address distortions in global map representation. The initiative has been described in terms of “cognitive justice” and seeks to improve perceptions of Africa’s geographical importance. The resolution encourages governments, schools, international organisations and technology companies to consider more accurate map projections.
Implementation in Education
Togo has announced plans to update its school geography materials by the end of 2026. The country also plans further discussions with the African Union and mapping and location-technology companies to encourage wider adoption.
Map Projections in Geography
A map projection converts Earth’s curved surface into a flat representation. Every projection introduces some form of distortion. Depending on its design, a projection may preserve area, shape, distance or direction, but it cannot preserve all these properties simultaneously.
Mercator vs Equal Earth
| Feature | Mercator | Equal Earth |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Conformal | Equal-area |
| Main strength | Direction and local angles | Relative area |
| Developed | 1569 | 2018 |
| Major use | Navigation | Educational and thematic mapping |
| Polar-area distortion | High | Much lower |
Equal Earth Projection: Exam-Oriented Facts
- UNGA resolution: Adopted on 4 September 2026.
- Resolution led by: Togo.
- Supported by: African Union.
- Vote: 164 in favour, 1 against and 6 abstentions.
- Only opposing country: United States.
- Preferred projection: Equal Earth.
- Mercator projection: Developed by Gerardus Mercator in 1569.
- Equal Earth: Introduced in 2018.
- Mercator: Conformal projection.
- Equal Earth: Equal-area projection.
- UNGA: Principal deliberative organ of the United Nations with 193 member states.
- The resolution does not legally ban Mercator projection.
