A new push to rethink the world map is showing just how different our planet looks when countries and continents are represented at their true relative size.
Key Takeaways
- The familiar Mercator projection dramatically distorts the relative size of countries and continents, particularly near the poles.
- Africa is actually about 14 times larger than Greenland, despite appearing roughly comparable on many Mercator maps.
- The Equal Earth projection preserves the relative area of land masses while presenting the world in a familiar, visually appealing format.
- The United Nations General Assembly recently voted 164 to 1 for a resolution encouraging a move away from Mercator toward equal area maps. The resolution is nonbinding.
- The debate is about more than cartography. The maps we use can influence how generations of people understand geography and the relative scale of different parts of our planet.
The World Is Bigger Than It Looks
Africa is 14 times larger than Greenland. That fact can be difficult to reconcile with the world map many of us grew up seeing in classrooms, textbooks, news reports and on computer screens.
Many of those maps use the Mercator projection, a centuries old way of translating our spherical planet onto a flat map that dramatically enlarges areas closer to the poles.
The distortion becomes even more striking when Africa is placed in a broader context. The #CorrectTheMap campaign points out that the United States, China, India, Japan, Mexico and much of Europe could fit within Africa with land still remaining.
The problem comes from trying to accomplish something inherently difficult. Earth is roughly spherical, while the maps hanging on our walls are flat. Turning a three-dimensional planet into a two-dimensional image inevitably requires compromises. For centuries, one particular compromise has shaped how much of the world sees Earth.
Why the Mercator Map Looks the Way It Does
The Mercator projection dates to 1569, when Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator developed a map particularly useful for navigation. By preserving angles and directions, it helped sailors chart courses across the oceans.
That usefulness came with significant distortion in the relative size of land masses. Areas farther from the equator become increasingly enlarged, making Greenland, Canada, Russia and northern Europe appear much larger than they are compared with Africa and other equatorial regions.
Mercator was addressing the navigational needs of sailors more than four centuries ago. The projection has since become one of the world’s most familiar maps, shaping how generations of people visualize the planet even when navigation is not the purpose.
Today, a growing international movement is pushing for maps that better represent the relative size of countries and continents.
Meet the Equal Earth Map
Published in 2018, the Equal Earth projection takes a different approach. It preserves the relative sizes of land masses while maintaining a recognizable view of the world. Africa looks substantially larger, Greenland becomes much smaller and the proportions among continents more closely reflect their actual areas.
Equal Earth does not eliminate distortion because no flat map can perfectly reproduce the surface of a globe. Different projections preserve different characteristics depending on their intended purpose, and Equal Earth prioritizes the relative size of countries and continents. The result is a noticeably different view of the world that is now gaining international attention.
The United Nations Wants to Change the Map
This month, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly for a resolution supporting a shift away from Mercator in favor of maps that more accurately represent the relative size of different regions.
The measure received support from 164 countries, with six abstentions and the United States casting the only vote against it. The resolution is nonbinding, meaning countries and organizations are not required to stop using Mercator. Its impact could instead be felt through education, government and technology as organizations reconsider which maps they use and why.
The vote follows the growing #CorrectTheMap campaign, which has received support from the African Union. Togo spearheaded the UN effort on the African Union’s behalf, arguing that distorted representations have affected perceptions of Africa across education, culture, geopolitics and economics.
France has already announced plans to move away from Mercator in favor of map projections better suited to particular uses, including the equal area Eckert IV projection.
Maps Shape How We See Earth
The debate over Equal Earth raises a fascinating question about something most of us rarely think about. How much has the map influenced our perception of the world itself?
A map can affect our understanding of the relative scale of countries, populations, ecosystems, natural resources and environmental challenges. When one continent appears dramatically smaller than it really is and another region appears much larger, those proportions can become part of our mental picture of the planet.
This is why the conversation surrounding Equal Earth extends beyond finding a more accurate map. It is also encouraging greater map literacy, including an understanding that every projection involves choices about what information to preserve and what to distort.
Seeing the world through a different map can be surprisingly powerful. The familiar continents remain, but their proportions shift as Africa appears much larger and Greenland much smaller than many of us are accustomed to seeing. Nothing about the planet has changed, but our perspective of it has.
One Planet. A Different Perspective.
From the first photographs of Earth from space to increasingly sophisticated satellite imagery, technology has continually given us new ways to see our planet. Equal Earth offers another kind of perspective by asking us to reconsider an image that has been familiar for generations.
The global .earth domain tribe is built around that same sense of connection to our shared planet. Understanding Earth more clearly, whether through science, technology, maps or the stories we tell about it, can help us better appreciate the extraordinary world we all call home.
To learn more and get started, visit Voices.Earth, and check out the latest Voices.Earth podcast series for inspiring stories from our community.
