India Supports Equal-Area Mapping

Why in News?

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted the “Correct the Map” resolution on 4 September 2026 to promote greater accuracy in global cartographic representation. India voted in favour of the resolution. However, India clarified that its support was for equal-area map projections in general, rather than for the Equal Earth projection alone.

UN “Correct the Map” Resolution

The resolution was sponsored by Togo and supported by the African Union (AU). It was adopted with 164 votes in favour, while six countries abstained and the United States voted against it. The abstaining countries were:

• Estonia
• Georgia
• Lithuania
• Moldova
• Serbia
• Ukraine

The resolution focuses on the way map projections represent the relative size and geographical position of regions and continents. It encourages greater awareness of cartographic distortions, particularly in education, public mapping and global geographical representation.

Mercator Projection and Map Distortion

The Mercator projection was developed by Gerardus Mercator in 1569. It is a cylindrical projection that preserves directions and local shapes effectively. This makes it particularly useful for navigation and marine charts. However, it significantly distorts area as latitude increases away from the Equator. For example, Greenland appears disproportionately large on a Mercator map. In reality, Africa is approximately 14–15 times larger than Greenland. This distortion can influence how people visually perceive the geographical size of continents.

Equal-Area Map Projections

An equal-area projection preserves the relative areas of geographical regions. The Equal Earth projection, introduced in 2018, is a modern equal-area world map projection. It provides a more proportionate visual representation of continents while maintaining a visually balanced global map. However, Equal Earth is only one among several equal-area projections.

India’s Position on Cartographic Neutrality

India supported the resolution while emphasising technological and methodological neutrality. India stated that countries, institutions and cartographers should retain the freedom to select map projections according to their specific requirements. India’s position therefore distinguishes between supporting the principle of accurate area representation and endorsing one particular projection.

Why is the Resolution Important?

The debate is important for geography, education and public understanding of the world. Map projections transform the three-dimensional Earth into a two-dimensional map. Therefore, every projection involves some form of compromise involving area, shape, distance or direction.

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