📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Jakub Hałun
International
UN Adopts Equal Earth Map, India Raises Concerns Over J&K, Arunachal
✍️ newsgram.com
🗓 08 Sep 2026, 01:18 PM
👁 5
The United Nations has approved the Equal Earth map, a modern projection that aims to reduce distortion, while India has expressed concerns about the representation of Jammu & Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh.
The United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution today to adopt the Equal Earth map as the organization’s official world map. The resolution, adopted by a majority vote, replaces the long‑used Mercator projection with a newer, less distorted representation that better reflects the relative sizes of continents.
The Equal Earth projection was developed by a team of cartographers and data scientists to correct the size exaggeration of landmasses seen in older maps. It is now being promoted by several international bodies, including the World Bank and the United Nations, as a more accurate visual tool for global communication.
India has voiced concerns that the new map’s depiction of Jammu & Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh may not align with the country’s official territorial claims. Officials from the Ministry of External Affairs stated that any representation that could be interpreted as altering India’s borders would be unacceptable.
The resolution marks a significant shift in how the world is visualized, but it also highlights ongoing geopolitical sensitivities. The United Nations has indicated that the map will be used in official documents and educational materials, while India has requested a review of the map’s territorial boundaries to ensure consistency with its national maps.
The Equal Earth projection was developed by a team of cartographers and data scientists to correct the size exaggeration of landmasses seen in older maps. It is now being promoted by several international bodies, including the World Bank and the United Nations, as a more accurate visual tool for global communication.
India has voiced concerns that the new map’s depiction of Jammu & Kashmir and Arunachal Pradesh may not align with the country’s official territorial claims. Officials from the Ministry of External Affairs stated that any representation that could be interpreted as altering India’s borders would be unacceptable.
The resolution marks a significant shift in how the world is visualized, but it also highlights ongoing geopolitical sensitivities. The United Nations has indicated that the map will be used in official documents and educational materials, while India has requested a review of the map’s territorial boundaries to ensure consistency with its national maps.