The Equal Earth projection is an equal-area pseudocylindrical world map projection created in 2018 by Bojan Šavrič, Bernhard Jenny, and Tom Patterson. It was inspired by the widely used Robinson projection, but unlike that projection it preserves the relative sizes of areas, and its equations are designed to be simple to implement and fast to compute. Its creators intended it for use mainly when an equal-area projection is strictly required, since such projections distort the shapes of continents.
Origins and purpose
The projection was developed after the Boston Public Schools adopted the Gall–Peters projection for world maps in March 2017, a decision that sparked debate among cartographers because of that projection's strong distortion near the poles. The creators sought existing equal-area alternatives that met their aesthetic criteria but found none, so they designed a new one. A key benefit of equal-area projections is a more accurate depiction of developing countries near the equator, particularly in Africa, compared with the Mercator projection, which exaggerates the size of high-latitude regions.
Recognition and adoption
After a public campaign called Correct the Map promoted the projection, and the African Union resolved to adopt it officially, the United Nations General Assembly approved a resolution in September 2026 concerning the projection. The resolution discouraged use of the Mercator projection for most purposes other than navigation, encouraged equal-area projections instead, and named Equal Earth as one option. The resolution was expected to influence educational and technological applications.