The UN General Assembly passed a non-binding resolution with 164 votes in favor, urging governments, schools and tech firms to adopt the Equal Earth projection or other equal-area maps when accurate size comparisons matter. The US was the sole country to vote against it, calling the measure a 'radical ideological project.' Despite the vote, major navigation apps like Google Maps and Apple Maps are expected to keep using Mercator-based projections, which remain practical for plotting travel routes.
arstechnica.com
· 2026-09-09
The United Nations passed a resolution, backed by the African Union, urging adoption of map projections that preserve the true relative size of continents instead of the 500-year-old Mercator projection. The vote passed 164 to 1, with the United States the lone dissenting country. Togo's foreign minister argued that maps shape how people understand the world's balance of power.
not-ship.com
· 2026-09-09
On September 4, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution to phase out the 16th-century Mercator map projection in favor of the Equal Earth projection, which more accurately represents the relative sizes of continents and countries. The Mercator map, created by Gerardus Mercator in 1569, has long been criticized for exaggerating the size of Northern Hemisphere landmasses like Canada and Russia while shrinking equatorial regions such as Africa.
nature.com
· 2026-09-09
The UN General Assembly passed a resolution urging governments, schools and tech firms to adopt equal-area map projections like Equal Earth instead of the Mercator projection, which distorts continents' relative sizes. The measure passed 164-1, with only the United States opposed and six countries abstaining; it does not ban Mercator maps but recommends alternatives where accurate size comparisons matter.
yro.slashdot.org
· 2026-09-06
GoKawiil