Pacific Islands, explained.
Equal Earth silhouette map compared with the Mercator projection, via Tobias Jung CC BY-SA 4.0.
Togo told the world that Africa matters. Australia should heed the lesson for the Pacific.
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Australia’s map gap for the Blue ContinentAustralia’s map gap for the Blue Continent
Map enthusiasts – who seldom make headlines – are excited. The UN General Assembly has passed a non-binding resolution put forward by African nation Togo that encourages international institutions, educational systems, publishers and digital platforms to adopt the Equal Earth Projection (Opens in new window) over the Mercator projection.
The average punter might wonder why that matters to Australia. For big reasons: representation and education.
The Mercator projection is the common map you know. Created in 1569, it preserves navigational angles, allowing compass bearings to translate as straight lines. While invaluable for 16th century sailors, its distortions mislead in modern education.
No two-dimensional map can preserve the spherical Earth’s land mass, distance, shape, and directional navigation. Distortions will arise, and mapmakers must choose what to prioritise. The Equal Earth Projection chooses proportional representations of countries’ actual sizes over navigational accuracy.
Talk of being part of a “Pacific Family” means nothing if children don't know their Pacific cousins exist.
Equal-area maps are not new; the Mollweide Projection dates to 1805 and the Eckerts to 1906. However, the non-cartography world took an interest in equal-area maps in 2018, when Boston public schools switched to the Gall-Peters projection (Opens in new window). Inspired by this, Bojan Šavrič (Opens in new window), Tom Patterson and Monash University’s Bernhard Jenny set out to create an equal-area map that is aesthetically recognisable and proportionately representative (Opens in new window).
Togo called the UN’s resolution “cognitive justice (Opens in new window)”. Much of the focus in commentary since has been on the change from the Mercator’s depiction of Africa and Greenland as equal in size instead of 14 times larger. This inadvertently taught people that Africa is small and reinforced limited education about Africa’s diversity.
Education systems won’t adopt the new map overnight, but this is now the path to greater recognition.
These maps also have consequences for understanding the Pacific, described as “the Blue Continent”.
Size isn’t everything, but visibility is. The Pacific Island countries are the one region that world maps repeatedly render invisible. Australia’s neighbours are too small to appear on either the Mercator or Equal Earth maps. But their representation should not be forgotten – and for Australia, that starts at home.
Map courtesy of CartoGIS Services, Scholarly Information Services, The Australian National University
Upon request, the NSW, QLD and SA state Departments of Education all confirmed their syllabi do not specify which maps to use. The current Australian curriculum for geography does not mention the Pacific, and only once under Asia-Pacific history (Opens in new window) (as an optional elaboration on Polynesian expansion across the Pacific). Education about Oceania is widely seen as optional.
Most countries divide geographical education into three categories: domestic, regional, and global. French classrooms display maps of France, Europe, and the world. Classrooms in Panama have maps showing Panama, Central America, and the world. Yet in Australia, maps rarely feature the wider region.
As Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey said, “Maps shape our understanding of the world. They guide education, nourish the imagination, and influence collective perceptions.” If Australians do not think often of their Pacific neighbours, how can they be an active member of the region?
Australia must integrate regionally accurate maps of Australia and the Pacific across the education system. To be a more engaged member of the Pacific community, it must start with education and awareness from a young age. Diplomatic visits, kava ceremonies and promises of renewable transition – all the while refusing to phase out fossil fuels – are not enough to nourish Australia’s relationship with the Pacific. Talk of being part of a “Pacific Family” means nothing if children don’t know their Pacific cousins exist.
Togo argued that for Africa to be adequately seen, it must be adequately represented. The same applies to the Pacific being seen on the world stage. If Australia wants influence and credibility, and to commit seriously to being a genuine member of the region, this must start with education.
About the author
Sheridan Ward
Sheridan Ward is a researcher on non-militarisation and countries without sovereign military institutions.
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