For more than four centuries, a single map has quietly shaped how billions of people understand the planet. The Mercator projection, first published in 1569, has hung in classrooms, guided sailors across oceans, and more recently powered the digital maps we consult every day. But it has also told us a distorted story — one where Greenland rivals Africa in size, even though Africa is roughly fourteen times larger. Now, the United Nations is encouraging a change: the adoption of equal-area projections, most notably the Equal Earth map. Researchers at the University of Szeged in Hungary are at the center of the conversation about what this shift means for science, education, and the way all of us perceive the world.
Prof. Dr. Elemér Pál-Molnár, Prof. Dr. Tamás Gál, and Dr. György Sipos of the University of Szeged’s Institute of Geosciences have weighed in on why the change matters, what it corrects, and why no map — old or new — can ever be perfect. Their insights offer a valuable lesson in cartography and geographical representation for students, educators, and anyone curious about how we picture our planet.
If you are considering studying geography, geosciences, or Earth sciences in an international academic environment, explore the study programmes available at the University of Szeged to see where a fascination with maps can take you.
Why the Mercator Projection Misleads Us About the Size of Countries
The Mercator projection was never designed to mislead. Created by Gerardus Mercator in 1569, it was a revolutionary tool for navigation. Its defining feature — preserving angles and allowing constant-bearing routes to be drawn as straight lines — made it indispensable for sailors plotting courses across open oceans. In that specific purpose, it was a triumph of mathematical ingenuity.
The problem emerges when the same projection is used as a general-purpose world map. Because Mercator stretches the surface of the Earth increasingly as you move away from the equator toward the poles, landmasses at high latitudes appear dramatically larger than they truly are. Greenland, for instance, looks nearly as vast as Africa on a Mercator map, yet Africa’s actual area is about fourteen times greater. Similarly, Canada, Russia, and much of northern Europe appear outsized, while much of South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia — regions closer to the equator — appear smaller than reality.
This is not a trivial matter of aesthetics. As Dr. György Sipos, Head of SZTE’s Department of Physical and Environmental Geography, points out, geographical representation shapes understanding: “When we examine long-term physical geographical processes on a global scale — such as shifts in climate and vegetation zones, or the advance and retreat of deserts and ice sheets — distortions in area can fundamentally alter our perception of their actual extent.” In other words, a distorted map can lead scientists and students alike to misjudge the scope of the very phenomena they are trying to study.
How the Equal Earth Map Corrects Centuries of Distortion
The UN General Assembly’s endorsement of equal-area maps, including the Equal Earth map, marks a turning point. The Equal Earth projection belongs to a family of projections that preserve relative area: countries and continents are shown much closer to their true size, even if their shapes are subtly altered. Distortion does not vanish — it is redistributed.
For educators, this change is especially significant. “That makes equal-area projections especially valuable in the classroom,” Dr. Sipos explains. “Whether students are comparing a desert, a tropical forest belt, a major drainage basin, or regions once covered by Quaternary ice, seeing these features in their true proportions makes it much easier to grasp the actual scale of the physical geographical phenomena involved.”
The correction also carries a social dimension. For decades, critics have argued that traditional maps visually diminish countries in the Global South by making them appear smaller than they really are. The Equal Earth projection speaks directly to this debate. As Dr. Sipos notes, the shift “is important in this respect as well” — and with GPS now standard, the original navigational justification for Mercator-based world maps no longer carries the weight it once did. At smaller scales, conformal maps remain useful, and even in the age of satellites, paper maps and compasses still have their place. But for representing the whole planet, equal-area projections offer a more honest picture.
For students and researchers who want to engage with these questions hands-on, the University of Szeged’s research environment in geosciences offers the opportunity to work alongside faculty at the forefront of cartography, climate modelling, and geoinformatics.
Why No Map of the Earth Can Ever Be Perfect
One of the most important lessons from the University of Szeged researchers is that the shift to Equal Earth is not about replacing a flawed map with a flawless one. It is about choosing the right tool for the right purpose.
Prof. Dr. Tamás Gál, Head of the Department of Atmospheric and Geospatial Data Sciences, approaches the issue from the perspective of climate modelling and geoinformatics. As someone who also teaches cartography at the Institute, he emphasizes that creating a flat map of a curved planet always involves compromise. “Our geography and Earth science students study these nuances and the fundamental principles of map projections in detail,” he notes.
The underlying mathematics is unforgiving. Any attempt to represent the Earth’s curved surface on a flat sheet must distort something — area, angles, distances, or a combination of all three. A perfectly accurate two-dimensional map simply cannot exist. A helpful way to visualize the problem: imagine trying to flatten an inflated beach ball onto a table without stretching, wrinkling, or tearing it. Something has to give.
What the Equal Earth projection changes, then, is the priority. Where Mercator preserves angles and local shapes, Equal Earth preserves relative area. Countries and continents appear much closer to their true size — at the expense of some shape accuracy. For global-scale questions about land, climate, and environment, that is a trade worth making. For plotting a ship’s course, the old rules still apply.
The Visible Difference: Mercator Versus Equal Earth
The contrast between the two projections is striking when placed side by side. On a Mercator map of Central Europe, the graticule — the lines of latitude and longitude — appear as straight lines intersecting at right angles. On the Equal Earth projection, the lines of longitude curve visibly and converge toward the poles. This is more than a visual curiosity.
What may look like a small geometric difference on the page can amount to an error of many thousands of square kilometers when measuring real landmasses. For climate scientists, who have long relied on three-dimensional models that avoid flat-map distortions entirely, the change is less about their own research and more about public communication: most people still encounter the world through Mercator-based maps online, and better maps mean better public understanding of global phenomena.
Digital platforms may soon follow. Google Maps, GIS software, and other geospatial technologies could adapt to equal-area projections, reshaping not only the tools professionals use but also how geoinformatics itself is taught — including at institutions like the University of Szeged, where students learn the principles behind the maps they will one day build.
Beyond the Map: The Purpose-Driven Future of Geographical Representation
Prof. Dr. Elemér Pál-Molnár, Head of the Institute of Geosciences, places the shift in its broadest context. “The UN resolution is not about replacing one flawed world map with a single, universally correct one,” he explains. “It is about recognizing that every map involves a conscious choice. The projection must match the purpose — whether the priority is area, shape, direction, or distance.”
This is a valuable takeaway for anyone entering the geosciences. Cartography is not a settled science but a living discipline of trade-offs and purpose-built solutions. A climate scientist studying desertification needs area accuracy. A navigator needs angular accuracy. A city planner working at the local level — say, within Hungary’s Unified National Projection System (EOV), where distortion amounts to only a few square centimeters per hectare — can afford to prioritize local precision. The question is never “which map is correct?” but “which map is correct for this task?”
For prospective students, this is precisely the kind of thinking that a rigorous education in geography and Earth sciences develops. Understanding why the Equal Earth map matters requires grasping the mathematics of projections, the physics of the Earth’s shape, and the social implications of geographical representation. Few fields combine technical rigor and real-world relevance so directly.
Practical Lessons for Students and Map Users
Even if you never design a projection yourself, the University of Szeged researchers’ analysis offers practical guidance:
- Question the map in front of you. Every map embeds choices. Ask what it preserves and what it distorts before drawing conclusions about size, distance, or importance.
- Match the projection to the purpose. If you are comparing the size of ecosystems, countries, or climate zones, use an equal-area projection. If you are navigating, conformal projections like Mercator remain the right choice.
- Look beyond the equator. Distortion grows toward the poles. The farther a landmass sits from the equator on a Mercator-style map, the more its apparent size is exaggerated.
- Appreciate that flat maps of a round world always compromise. Recognizing this is the first step toward reading maps critically — a skill valuable in science, policy, journalism, and everyday life.
Where to Study Cartography and Geosciences in Hungary
The discussion surrounding the UN’s adoption of the Equal Earth projection illustrates why studying geography at a research-active university matters. At the University of Szeged, students learn map projections not as abstract formulas but as consequential decisions that shape how humanity understands its own planet. Faculty members like Prof. Pál-Molnár, Prof. Gál, and Dr. Sipos bring active research in physical geography, climate modelling, and geospatial data sciences directly into the classroom.
Hungary’s higher education landscape, and Szeged’s Faculty of Science and Informatics in particular, offers international students a chance to study cartography, geographical representation, and Earth sciences in English within a vibrant academic community. Those interested can review the admissions process at the University of Szeged or browse the international study programmes to find a degree path aligned with their goals.
The world has not changed — but the way we draw it finally is. The Equal Earth map will not make Mercator obsolete, and it should not. What it will do is give classrooms, researchers, and the public a truer sense of the planet’s proportions, and remind everyone that behind every map lies a choice about what to show and what to set aside.
Ready to see geography from a new perspective? Discover the geography and Earth science programmes at the University of Szeged, or share your thoughts in the comments: how has the map you grew up with shaped your view of the world?
