Popular navigation apps unlikely to ditch Mercator maps despite UN resolution
A recent UN resolution encourages the use of equal-area maps to better represent the relative size of continents. However, major navigation apps are unlikely to abandon the traditional Mercator projection because it remains the industry standard for maritime and compass-based navigation.
Why it matters
This highlights the tension between geopolitical calls for accurate representation and the technical constraints of established digital infrastructure.
Organization of Cartographers for Social Equality Popular navigation apps unlikely to ditch Mercator maps despite UN resolution UN-backed Equal Earth map has educational value but won’t alter navigation apps.
76 The UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of a "Correct the map" resolution. Credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe The UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of a "Correct the map" resolution. Credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe Text settings Story text Size Small Standard Large Width * Standard Wide Links Standard Orange * Subscribers only Learn more Minimize to nav Nearly every country represented in the United Nations General Assembly recently voted in favor of promoting world maps that more accurately show the size of various continents. But the UN resolution is unlikely to change how millions of people regularly see versions of 16th-century Mercator maps depicting skewed continent sizes in navigation apps.
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