Old map Mercator · 1569 – 2026

New map Equal Earth · 2026 – ongoing

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Mercator vs Equal Earth, compared

The fight between the old world map (Mercator, 1569) and the new world map (Equal Earth, 2018 — UN standard since 2026) is really a fight about which compromise you want. Every flat map compromises; the question is what it preserves.

What each one preserves

Mercator — preserved: compass bearings. Straight lines are true courses. Perfect for navigation, but area inflates with latitude: Greenland ≈ Africa on the map, while Africa is ~14× bigger.
Equal Earth — preserved: area. Every country keeps its true relative size everywhere on the map. Latitude-based inflation is gone; small distortions in shape and distance remain, as on any flat map.

Which to choose

For ships, GPS charts and bearing-finding: Mercator. For school maps, news graphics, atlases and anything where "which is bigger" matters: Equal Earth or another equal-area projection. This site renders both, synced side by side, so you can judge the difference for yourself.

Proyección Equal Earth — el mapa del mundo a tamaño real, explicado Proyección de Mercator — la distorsión del antiguo mapa del mundo, explicada Mapa mundial antiguo vs nuevo

Datos y cifras

Which projection is more accurate?

They are accurate at different things. Mercator is accurate about direction (compass bearings), Equal Earth is accurate about area. For comparing country sizes, Equal Earth is the honest choice; for plotting a course at sea, Mercator beats it. Neither is "the" correct map of our round planet.

When should I use the Mercator map?

Use Mercator whenever the job is direction: nautical charts, marine navigation, bearing calculations, and most GPS/web map tiles that lean on Mercator's math. Do not use it to compare areas.

Is the Equal Earth map more accurate than the previous UN map standard?

For area, yes — that is the entire reason the UN switched its official maps in 2026. The previous standard and Mercator both inflate northern landmasses; Equal Earth removes that inflation while keeping the familiar world-map silhouette.