How big is Africa really? Why the UN voted to change the world map
- The UN voted to adopt a new map projection that more accurately represents the true size of African countries and other landmasses near the equator.
- Traditional map projections, such as the Mercator projection widely used for centuries, distort the size of continents, making Africa appear smaller than it actually is.
- Africa's actual land area is significantly larger than depicted on conventional maps, covering approximately 11.7 million square miles.
- The new map projection aims to provide a more geographically accurate representation and address historical cartographic biases.
The United Nations has voted to adopt a new world map projection that provides a more accurate representation of Earth's continents, particularly addressing long-standing distortions in how Africa and other equatorial regions are depicted.
Traditional map projections, most notably the Mercator projection developed in the 16th century, have systematically misrepresented the relative sizes of continents. Under these conventional projections, Africa appears significantly smaller than its actual size, while higher-latitude regions appear disproportionately larger.
The new projection aims to correct these cartographic distortions and provide a more geographically accurate depiction of global landmasses. This change reflects growing recognition of how historical map-making practices have influenced perceptions of geography and global proportions.
非洲的真实面积有多大？联合国为何投票改变世界地图
联合国投票通过采纳一种新的世界地图投影方式，该方式能更准确地呈现地球各大陆，特别是解决了长期以来非洲及其他赤道地区在地图上的失真问题。
传统的地图投影方式，尤其是16世纪开发的麦卡托投影，长期以来系统性地误表了各大陆的相对面积。在这些常规投影下，非洲看起来远小于其实际面积，而高纬度地区则显得不成比例地更大。
新的投影方式旨在纠正这些制图失真，提供更地理上准确的全球陆地呈现。这一改变反映了人们日益认识到历史制图实践如何影响了对地理和全球比例的认知。