A map has limitations. For instance, there is the Mercator projection shown above that has Africa being similar in size to Greenland, but the continent really has an area 14 times larger than the Danish territory. A Wikipedia page says:
“The Mercator projection (/mərˈkeɪtər/) is a conformal cylindrical map projection first presented by Flemish geographer and mapmaker Gerardus Mercator in 1569. In the 18th century, it became the standard map projection for navigation due to its property of representing rhumb lines as straight lines. When applied to world maps, the Mercator projection inflates the size of lands the farther they are from the equator. Therefore, landmasses such as Greenland and Antarctica appear far larger than they actually are relative to landmasses near the equator.”
There is an article by Mariamne Everett at ALJAZEERA on September 4, 2026 titled UN votes to adopt a new world map that reflects Africa’s true size, as is shown above:
“The resolution, put forward by African Union (AU) member states and the Bahamas, was backed by a vote of 164-1 with six abstentions.
… The United States – the only country to vote against the resolution – said it promoted an ‘ideological agenda’ and was a distraction from the ‘genuine problems of international peace, prosperity or good relations.’ ”
The U.S. whining equally well could apply to renaming Lake Ontario. I blogged about it on August 28, 2026 in a post titled Why did Donald Trump rename Lake Ontario, whose area is the smallest of the five Great Lakes, to Lake America?
World map images of a Mercator projection and equal area were adapted from Wikimedia Commons.
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