If the world map you grew up with suddenly looks a little different, don’t worry – none of the continents have actually changed size.
The United Nations (UN) has backed the wider use of a different kind of world map, known as the Equal Earth projection, which shows the relative size of continents more accurately than the map many of us are familiar with.
And there’s one change international students in Australia might notice straight away: Australia looks bigger.
What’s wrong with the world map we know?
For centuries, one of the most recognisable world maps has been based on the Mercator projection, created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569.
It was originally designed for maritime navigation. The problem is that turning our round, three-dimensional planet into a flat, two-dimensional map inevitably creates distortion.
On the Mercator projection, that distortion becomes greater as you move towards the North and South Poles. As a result, places such as Greenland, North America and Europe can look much larger relative to regions closer to the equator.
One of the most striking examples is Africa and Greenland. On some familiar maps, Greenland can appear almost as large as Africa. In reality, Africa is around 14 times larger.
So, what does the new map change?
The Equal Earth projection was developed by cartographers in 2018. Rather than preserving the same properties as the Mercator projection, it is designed to preserve the relative area of countries and continents.
The result can look strange at first.
Africa, Latin America, South Asia and Oceania – including Australia – appear considerably larger, while North America and parts of Europe appear smaller than you may be used to seeing.
Importantly, the countries themselves haven't changed size. Equal Earth is simply displaying their relative land areas differently.
Why did the UN get involved?
In September 2026, the UN General Assembly backed a resolution encouraging the use of more accurate representations of the world's landmasses.
The proposal was introduced by Togo on behalf of 54 African countries and received support from 164 countries, including Australia. Six countries abstained, while the United States was the only country to vote against it.
Supporters argue that maps aren't just tools for finding places. They're also part of how we learn about the world.
If generations of students repeatedly see some regions represented as much larger or smaller than they really are, this can influence their understanding of geography and even the relative importance of different parts of the world.
Does this mean every map is about to change?
Not necessarily.
The UN resolution is not legally binding, so it doesn't mean every classroom, website or mapping app must immediately replace its maps.
The Mercator projection also isn't simply “wrong”. It was designed for a particular purpose and remains useful for navigation because of the way it represents direction and angles.
That's because there is no perfect flat map of Earth. Every map projection has to compromise on something – whether that's area, shape, distance or direction. Equal Earth prioritises showing relative land area accurately while keeping the shapes of continents reasonably recognisable.
