The Equal Earth map projection is an equal-area pseudocylindrical global map projection, invented by Bojan Šavrič, Bernhard Jenny, and Tom Patterson in 2018. It is inspired by the widely used Robinson projection, but unlike the Robinson projection, it retains the relative size of areas. The projection equations are simple to implement and fast to evaluate. The United Nations General Assembly voted on a resolution to adopt the Equal Earth projection in September 2026, which is expected to affect educational and technological applications.
Contents
Features and purpose
The features of the Equal Earth projection include:
The relative area of any region on the map is preserved.
The curved sides of the projection suggest the spherical form of Earth.
Straight parallels make it easy to compare how far north or south places are from the equator.
Meridians are evenly spaced along any line of latitude.
Software for implementing the projection is easy to write and executes efficiently.
The projection was created in response to the decision of the Boston Public Schools to adopt the Gall–Peters projection for world maps in March 2017, to accurately show the relative sizes of equatorial and non-equatorial regions. The decision generated controversy in the world of cartography due to that projection's extreme distortion in the polar regions. At that time, Šavrič, Jenny, and Patterson sought alternative map projections of equal areas for world maps, but could not find any that met their aesthetic criteria. Therefore, they created a new projection that had more visual appeal compared to existing projections of equal areas.
One impact of the Equal Earth projection is to help to improve representation of many developing countries near the equator, particularly in Africa, compared to the distorted relative sizes of the countries on the Mercator projection, which have economic, societal, and political effects. For example, on a Mercator projection, Greenland appears to be larger than the whole of Africa, when in reality it only has 7% of the total land area as Africa. These inconsistencies with area can lead to misrepresentation of the impact of spreadable diseases. There exist other projections such as the equirectangular projection and Robinson projection that better represent the size of these countries, but have other limits. The Equal Earth projection gives a more visually accurate representation of the true area of each country compared to the other projections.
Formulation
As with the earlier Natural Earth projection (2012) introduced by Patterson, a visual method was used to choose the parameters of the projection. A combination of Putniņš P4ʹ and Eckert IV projections was used as the basis. Mathematical formulas for the projection were derived from a polynomial used to define the spacing of parallels. The projection is formulated as the equations:
x
=
2
3
λ
cos
θ
3
(
9
A
4
θ
8
+
7
A
3
θ
6
+
3
A
2
θ
2
+
A
1
)
y
Use
The first known thematic map published using the Equal Earth projection is a map of the global mean temperature anomaly for July 2018, produced by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. This is a notable use of the projection.
An Equal Earth Political Wall Map by Tom Patterson, designed for schools and organisations is labelled using United States Central Intelligence Agency map data with the Central Intelligence Agency political map as the primary reference. Countries are mostly the same as US government maps, however Patterson made changes in the depiction of Myanmar (and Naypyidaw), Taiwan (and Taipei), Western Sahara (Western Sahara conflict), depiction of Crimea, a border between Kenya and South Sudan, and boundaries between China, India, and Pakistan.
OpenStreetMap-based maps can be created using Equal Earth projections. To view maps without coordinate calculations, vector tiles can be produced in Equal Earth projection on a Equal Earth Greenwich grid (centred on Greenwich) to be addressed using a Web Mercator grid. Mapbox supports the equalearth projection.
Esri tools support Equal Earth projection.
'Correct The Map' campaign
The Correct the Map campaign calls for adopting the Equal Earth projection for world maps, instead of the widely used Mercator projection.
The campaign was started by Africa No Filter and SpeakUpAfrica. As of August 2025 it was backed by the African Union, Speak Up Africa, Africa No Filter, and the Caribbean Community.
For the African Union, a change in map projection was a change to influence how people "view, talk about and value Africa".
The campaign calls on the United Nations, World Bank, and BBC to "adopt the Equal Earth projection in their data, reports, and materials that include world maps". As of November 2025, neither organization had a proscribed map projection.
United Nations adoption
On 4 September 2026, the text to the Correct the Map resolution was adopted at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly. The resolution was for the world to phase out the Mercator projection in favour of the Equal Earth projection. UN resolutions are non-enforceable and use of the projection is not mandated.
Of the 193 member states of the United Nations, 164 voted in favour of the resolution, six abstained (Estonia, Georgia, Lithuania, Moldova, Serbia, and Ukraine), and one voted against (United States). The resolution was put forward by African Union member states and The Bahamas. Togo asked UN member states to adopt the map in April 2026. A draft resolution was created and the United Nations General Assembly held consultations in July 2026.
The European Union underscored the resolution "neither addresses nor affects questions relating to sovereignty, territorial status, delimitation, or the internationally recognized borders of States", and noted that the resolution does not "endorse any specific website, such as equal-earth.com, including the maps contained therein".
The Guardian wrote the outcome was expected to result in the update of education curriculums and general technology.
Alternatives
The Equal Earth projection is one of many equal-area pseudocylindrical map projections. Using a globe more accurately represents sizes and shapes on earth for digital maps.
The Natural Earth projection looks much like Equal Earth but gives a more natural appearance.
The Winkel tripel projection has more accurate shapes than Equal Earth with less accurate sizes, and is regarded as one of the least distorted compromise projections. The National Geographic Society and many educational institutions use Winkel tripel projection for global mapping.
The Guardian stated earlier attempts to give "a truer sense of area while retaining a visually intuitive layout" and replace the Mercator projection include the Goode homolosine and Peters projection.