The Mercator projection, which for centuries made Africa appear much smaller than it actually is, lost its status as the "almost automatic choice" to represent the world. The United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution promoting the use of the Equal Earth projection, which corrects the distortion that made the African continent appear smaller than it is.
The resolution was presented by Togo on behalf of the African Group and approved with 164 votes in favor. The main objective is to reduce the use of the Mercator representation, especially when comparing the actual dimensions of countries' territories.
From now on, each country decides whether to change maps and which projection to use. The Equal Earth projection was developed to show continents and countries with more realistic proportions, correcting a cartographic injustice that has existed for centuries.
According to Reuters, the approval of this resolution represents an important step toward a more faithful representation of Earth, contributing to a more correct perception of the relative size of world territories.
