Wetin di different world maps get right - and wetin dem get wrong

Di United Nations (UN) recently say dem replace di world map wey many pipo know and wit di one wey go show di true size of continents like Africa more accurately.

According to dem, di common map wey many schools and organisations dey use no truly represent how big some parts of di world be, especially Africa, wey dey much bigger pass how e dey appear for di map.

"Correct di Map" resolution wey di General Assembly dey aim to fix di inconsistency wey dey di Mercator map, wey show say di African continent na same size wit Greenland - even though in reality, e dey about 14 times larger.

Di UN adopt new map, di Equal Earth projection, wey represents di true sizes of landmasses better - but e come wit problems of im own.

For many years now, different experts and map makers don try solve di problem of how to correctly show di surface of round earth on top flat map, but each type of map get im own advantages and disadvantages.

Mercator map

Na Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator create di Mercator map wey many pipo dey use now for 1569.

Di main purpose na to help European sailors navigate di oceans, as cartography Professor James Cheshire for University London College explain am.

"E bin want make dem draw a straight line on a map to look like straight line in reality if you follow a compass bearing," e tell BBC. "Dat na wetin e wan do, and dat na wetin e do brilliantly well."

To keep dos angles correct on a flat map, Mercator gatz stretch di grid lines wider as dem move away from di equator toward di poles.

Im map adjust for di round shape of di Earth by making countries wey dey close to di Equator appear smaller pass dia real size, while countries and places wey dey nearer to di North and South Pole look bigger and stretched.

Dis distortion happun becos e no dey possible to accurately represent di surface of one round globe perfectly on top flat two-dimensional map without changing some sizes, shapes or distances.

More dan 450 years later, Mercator map still remain di foundation for many maps wey pipo dey see for classrooms, television and online platforms, including Google Maps.

But pipo wey no support di Mercator map tok say di way e show some places smaller and odas bigger fit affect how pipo dey reason. Dem say naturally, pipo dey see bigger things as more important, so di map fit give wrong impression about some countries and continents.

For Kenyan geographer Kioko Muendo, dis kind representation don quietly make pipo overlook Africa enormous natural resources, large population and plenty investment opportunities.

"Maps no be only tools wey travellers dey use find road. Dem also dey shape how peipo dey see different regions politically and economically," e tell BBC.

Equal Earth map

Di Equal Earth map aim na to address dis problem wit di Mercator projection.

Na one team of cartographers develop am for 2018 to present di size and shape of landmasses more accurately. E dey inspired by di 1963 Robinson projection - one map wey show di entire world at once.

54 members of di African Union bin adopt di Equal Earth map for February.

But e sacrifice di straight lines wey make di Mercator projection perfect for navigating wit - and dem no fit use am measure di true distance between different places.

"You fit preserve area, or you fit preserve shape, or you fit preserve distance and direction, but no be evritin at once perfectly, because otherwise you go go back to a sphere," Cheshire tok.

Peters map

German historian Arno Peters design di Peters for di early 1970s. Di rectangular map dey based on di projection wey Scottish cartographer James Gall bin first describe for 1855.

Di projection sacrifices accuracy of shape in favour of accuracy of scale. So, polar regions dey squished, while di bits near di equator dey stretched.

Dis one fix di Greenland-Africa size issue, and e allow dos wey dey use am to get a sense of di comparative size of different landmasses, e also preserve di straight lines of longitude and latitude.

However, di map really scata di shapes of Earth landmasses, and make dem look slightly off. Russia, for instance, look much smaller.

Di straight lines on di Peters map no represent true constant compass bearings and so dem dey useless for navigation.

'Political' maps

Apart from ordinary world maps, some countries also get wetin pipo dey call "political maps", wia nations dey arrange di map for way wey go make dem appear more important or powerful as dem dey put dia kontri for di centre of di world.

Di picture wey dey above, wey dem take from one school for Shenzhen, China, show dis thing clearly. For di map, China dey positioned near di centre, wey fit influence how students and oda pipo perceive di kontri position and importance for di world.

Dis kind map design show say maps no just dey represent geography alone, but dem fit also affect how pipo see power, influence and global relationships.