Cartographers explain how the Equal Earth projection shows Africa’s true relative size and why the world map we use matters.

On September 4, 2026, the United Nations adopted a resolution to promote a new map of the world. The resolution encourages ...

The Mercator projection is the map widely used across the globe but inaccurately depicts the sizes of countries and continents The UN has just called for the predominant world map to be replaced with ...

The UN has passed a non-binding resolution to endorse the Equal Earth Projection, a map which more fairly represents the true size of the Earth’s landmasses. The current commonly used projection, ...

The African Union has endorsed the #CorrectTheMap Campaign, a call for the United Nations and the wider global community to use a different kind of world map. The campaign currently has over 4,500 ...

The U.S. was the only country to not support a United Nations resolution adjusting the appearance of Africa and other regions on world maps. The body passed the “Correct the Map” initiative by a ...

Aimed at “a more accurate representation” of continental landmasses, the resolution was supported by 164 countries, while the US voted against it and six other states abstained. The new map – known as ...

The Mercator projection, left, distorts the relative size of landmasses, particularly towards the poles. The Equal Earth ...

See more of our trusted coverage when you search. Prefer Newsweek on Google to see more of our trusted coverage when you search. The United Nations this month overwhelmingly approved a resolution ...

Cartographers rely on the authority of maps to communicate locations, guide navigation at sea, and shape people’s perceptions of Earth. However, because all flat maps have compromises built into them, ...

The UN resolution, supported by 164 countries with the United States voting against, urges member states to adopt the “Equal Earth” projection over the traditional 16th-century Mercator map. Want more ...