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.