The UN called for redrawing the world map: why the new map "shrunk" Russia

On world maps, Russia, Canada, and Greenland often appear larger than they actually are. This is not political manipulation, but a consequence of the old Mercator map projection, which heavily stretches territories near the poles.

The UN proposed using another map more widely — Equal Earth. It more accurately shows area ratios, so northern countries look less gigantic on it, and Africa and South America appear closer to their real sizes.

For Ukraine, this story turned out to be not only cartographic. The Ukrainian delegation abstained during the vote because on a map linked to the new projection, Crimea was shown in a way that was unacceptable — visually separated from Ukraine.

What’s wrong with the Mercator projection?

The Mercator projection, created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in the 16th century, became one of the world's best known. Its strength is preserving angles and directions. This made it extremely useful for maritime navigation: with such a map, plotting a course is convenient. This property explains why Mercator did not disappear in the digital age.

The world is changing as are maps / Screenshot from a video

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Average prices at the Amic Energy gas station network as of

Its principles are used in services like Google Maps and Apple Maps, where routes, directions, and convenient display of local areas are important. The problem starts when such a map is perceived as a fair comparison of country and continent sizes. The farther an area is from the equator, the more visually it enlarges.

Because of this, Greenland on the Mercator map can look almost as large as Africa, although Africa is actually about 14 times larger. This creates a false sense of scale. Northern regions, especially Europe, North America, and Greenland, seem disproportionately large, while countries closer to the equator visually lose their true size.

At the same time, Mercator is not a "bad" map in itself. It is a tool for a specific task. It works well for navigation, but is ill-suited for explaining which country or part of the world is really larger than another.

Why did the UN draw attention to Equal Earth?

The Equal Earth projection was created in 2018 by cartographers Bojan Šavrič, Tom Patterson, and Bernhard Jenny. It was designed as an alternative to popular compromise world maps, including the Robinson projection. Equal Earth is an equal-area projection.

This means it preserves correct area proportions. If one territory on Earth is larger than another, that difference is also conveyed proportionally on the map. That is why Africa appears significantly larger on such a map than on the traditional Mercator map.

It isn’t that it was “enlarged” — on the contrary, distortions that made northern territories seem too large were removed. The UN resolution encourages broader use of Equal Earth in education, cartography, and digital services. But it does not ban Mercator and does not make Equal Earth legally mandatory for all maps.

What will the "new" world look like / Screenshot from a video

The document was voted on by 164 countries. The United States opposed it, while another 6 countries abstained, including Ukraine.

Why did Ukraine abstain during the vote?

Ukraine did not oppose the idea of more accurate area depiction. The problem was how the temporarily occupied Crimea was shown on a map linked to Equal Earth. According to Ukrainian media, Crimea was visually separated from Ukraine.

The Ukrainian delegation to the UN called such a depiction unacceptable because it creates ambiguity about the territorial integrity of the state.

Lawmaker Kira Rudik also drew attention to this issue.

In 2026 year, the UN should not need reminding: Crimea is Ukraine,

— she writes.

Ukraine’s position in this story does not dispute the cartographic issue of Mercator. It concerns a different matter — that even a technical world map should not give the impression that an occupied territory has an undefined or separated status. This is an important nuance.

The Equal Earth resolution was conceived as a way to correct old cartographic distortions, especially regarding Africa. But for Ukraine it became an example of how trying to fix one injustice can create a new political problem if international borders are shown inaccurately on the map.

What other projections are used for world maps?

Equal Earth is not the only attempt to show the world without area distortion. One well-known equal-area projection is the Mollweide projection. It also preserves area ratios, making it suitable for maps where you need to compare the sizes of continents, countries, or territory-related statistics.

In Mollweide, the world is shaped like an ellipse. The equator is shown as a straight horizontal line, the central meridian as a straight vertical line, and most other meridians bend. This preserves areas proportionally, but the shapes of continents, angles, and distances are distorted, especially toward the edges of the map.

The UN uses more than one projection in its work. Its maps may be built on Robinson, Winkel tripel, or Eckert IV projections — depending on what needs to be shown. The Robinson projection is a compromise: it does not preserve areas or angles perfectly, but it distributes distortion so the map generally looks more natural. Winkel Tripel is also used for a general view of the world because it reduces excessive stretching near the poles. Eckert IV, on the other hand, is an equal-area projection and useful for thematic maps where area comparison is important.

Why is Russia made to look smaller on the new map?

Russia no longer looks as disproportionately large as on the traditional Mercator projection. Because Russia, Canada, and Greenland are located far north, they appear larger on traditional maps than they actually are. Equal Earth more accurately conveys area ratios, so territories nearer the poles visually “shrink” toward a more realistic scale.