Classroom Maps Australia: The Best World and Australia Wall Maps for Schools

by Christopher O'Keeffe June 11, 2026

by Christopher O’Keeffe, Managing Director of Mapworld

The United Nations has endorsed Equal Earth for world maps, and that gives Australian schools a timely reason to reconsider the familiar classroom map. Equal Earth preserves the relative area of countries and continents while remaining clear and visually balanced. In this guide, I explain why it is now my first world-map recommendation for many classrooms, compare our Pacific-centred, Africa-centred, Americas-centred and south-up editions, and show how to build a complete school map set with Australia wall maps, political maps, physical maps, globes and local topographic mapping.

On 4 September 2026, the United Nations General Assembly endorsed the Equal Earth projection for its official world maps.

That decision deserves the attention of every school that is choosing a new classroom map.

It does not mean that one projection has suddenly become perfect, because no flat world map can be perfect. It does mean that the world’s principal international body has made a clear judgement about which qualities should shape its general world maps: countries should appear in their correct relative sizes, the continents should remain recognisable, and the result should be readable without the severe high-latitude enlargement most of us inherited from Mercator.

For Australian classrooms, this is more than a cartographic footnote. A wall map is rarely neutral background. It is one of the first complete pictures of the world that children see repeatedly. It establishes which places look large or small, which region occupies the centre, where the page is cut, and whether Australia seems connected to its neighbours or stranded at the edge of somebody else’s story.

That is why I now recommend the World Equal Earth Wall Map — Pacific-Centred as the best first world map for many Australian primary and secondary classrooms. It combines an equal-area projection with a viewpoint centred on 150° east. Australia, the Pacific, East Asia and Southeast Asia stay together. Africa and South America retain their proper scale. Greenland is not made to look comparable with Africa. The whole arrangement feels contemporary, legible and geographically honest about area.

We have also produced three companion editions, because the centre and orientation of a world map are themselves worth teaching:

1. the World Equal Earth Wall Map — Africa-Centred, which places the African continent and the Atlantic-facing world at the visual heart of the sheet;

2. the World Equal Earth Wall Map — Americas-Centred, centred on 90° west for North America, South America, the Atlantic and the Pacific-facing Americas; and

3. the World Equal Earth Upside-Down Wall Map, a south-up, Pacific-centred edition that challenges the assumption that north naturally belongs at the top.

These are not four decorative colour variations. They are four teaching instruments. The underlying equal-area mathematics remains consistent, while the change of centre or orientation alters the relationships that students notice first. Used separately, each can be chosen for a particular room or subject. Used together, they turn the wall into a sustained lesson about projection, viewpoint, power, convention and the choices hidden inside every map.

Our detailed article, The UN Has Endorsed the Equal Earth Map: What It Means for Australia, Schools and World Maps, explains the endorsement and projection in depth. This guide takes the next practical step. It is about choosing between the four editions, selecting the right size and finish, placing the map where students can genuinely use it, and pairing it with the right map of Australia.

The short version is straightforward: if a school is buying one world map, choose Pacific-centred Equal Earth. If it can buy two, add either Africa-centred Equal Earth or a physical world map. If it wants a map set that students will interrogate rather than merely look at, display two or more Equal Earth centres and include the south-up edition somewhere it cannot be ignored.

For the national layer, browse our dedicated Australian Wall Maps collection. A world map and an Australia map do different jobs, and the strongest classroom setup normally has both. Our broader World Wall Maps collection includes political, physical, equal-area and other specialist world maps, while the Educational Products collection brings together maps, globes and related learning resources.

A Note on Editions, Specifications and Classroom Use

The product details in this guide were checked on 21 September 2026. Prices are omitted because they change. Editions, availability, production times, finishes and supplied dimensions can also change, so please confirm the live product page before raising a purchase order.

The four Equal Earth maps discussed here are listed as 2025 editions and are printed and finished in Australia. The three north-up versions are available at approximately 1000 × 532 mm, 1400 × 740 mm and 2000 × 1064 mm. The south-up edition has a slightly different aspect and is listed at approximately 1000 × 536 mm, 1400 × 750 mm and 2000 × 1072 mm. Available treatments include paper, laminated, laminated with hang rails, canvas, and canvas with hang rails. Check the individual product page for the current combination of size and finish.

The images prepared for this article are editorial classroom scenes made with the actual product artwork as the map reference. They show the maps in use rather than functioning as catalogue photographs. Screen colour, apparent scale, small labels, cropping and wall finish can differ from the supplied product. The linked product pages remain the proper reference for cartographic detail and ordering.

A wall map is a teaching and reference resource, not the last word on a place. Political names and boundaries can change. Historical maps preserve the knowledge and assumptions of their publication date. Maps depicting Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander language, social or cultural groups require careful context and do not replace local knowledge or consultation with Traditional Owners. Our Content Policy explains the principles we use when describing cartographic products.

For write-on activities, use a suitable marker on a laminated map, test it discreetly, and clean the surface regularly. Avoid permanent markers and harsh solvents. Pins puncture laminate; removable map dots or a pinboard installed behind a paper map are safer options for repeated activities.

Quick Recommendations: Which Equal Earth Map Should Your School Choose?

Classroom need	My recommendation	Why it works
Best world map for most Australian classrooms	Pacific-Centred Equal Earth	Keeps Australia, Asia and the Pacific together while preserving true relative area
Best single size for a standard classroom	Pacific-centred, 1400 × 740 mm	A useful balance between label visibility, wall space and installation
Best map for global development, population and decolonising the visual centre	Africa-Centred Equal Earth	Gives Africa its proper area and an uninterrupted central position
Best map for American studies, Pacific–Atlantic comparison and pan-American topics	Americas-Centred Equal Earth	Keeps North and South America together and exposes both ocean relationships
Best map for teaching convention, orientation and point of view	Equal Earth Upside-Down	Shows that north-up is a convention, not a law of nature
Best two-map Equal Earth set	Pacific-centred + Africa-centred	Combines an Australian regional frame with a powerful change of centre
Best projection-literacy set	Pacific-centred + south-up + a Mercator or conventional political map	Lets students separate projection, centring and orientation as three different choices
Best finish for active teaching	Laminated	Durable, cleanable and suitable for temporary annotation with appropriate markers
Best finish for a library or formal learning space	Canvas	A softer, display-quality surface where write-on use is not required
Best display for a very large room	2000 mm-wide edition	Gives labels and the world outline more presence at longer viewing distances
Best companion map of Australia	Australia Hema Supermap	Adds roads, places and national-scale detail beneath the global overview
Best companion for landforms and Earth systems	World Physical Supermap	Adds relief, oceans and physical geography that a political reference map cannot foreground
Best place to compare the wider range	World Wall Maps	Brings Equal Earth, political, physical, flags and classic world maps together

My Recommendation in One Sentence

For a typical Australian classroom, choose the 1400 × 740 mm Pacific-Centred Equal Earth map in laminate, mount it where every student can see it, and pair it with a large map from our Australian Wall Maps collection.

That is the useful answer if you need to make a decision quickly.

The longer answer begins with the room. A compact primary classroom may be better served by the 1000 mm edition installed at child eye level. A geography room with a long rear sightline can justify the 2000 mm version. A library may prefer canvas. A teacher who plans regular route, area or current-affairs activities will get more value from laminate. A senior humanities department may benefit more from two differently centred versions than from one enormous map.

The most important choice, however, is conceptual rather than decorative. Equal Earth allows comparative area to mean something. A student can look at Africa and Greenland, or South America and Europe, without being asked to unlearn an extreme area distortion before the conversation has even begun. The map still distorts shape, distance and direction—as every flat world map must—but it protects a property that matters across geography, history, economics, environmental science and global citizenship.

Why the UN Endorsement Matters in a Classroom

The UN vote was decisive: 164 member states supported the resolution, one voted against it and six abstained. Numbers alone do not determine whether a projection is useful, but the endorsement carries unusual symbolic and practical weight. The United Nations needs maps for public information, education, reports, meetings and policy communication across cultures and regions. Choosing an equal-area world map says that the proportional size of places should not be treated as a dispensable detail.

The resolution also brings a subject that can seem technical into ordinary classroom conversation. Projection is no longer merely the chapter between latitude and scale. Students can ask why an international institution changed its preferred world map, what values are expressed through that decision, and whether the maps around them support the same aims.

Our companion article on the UN endorsement of Equal Earth covers the news, the voting result, the origins of the projection and the implications for Australia. I would use that article as a reading alongside the map. Let students inspect the sheet first, record what feels familiar or surprising, and only then read the explanation. Their initial observations are evidence of the visual habits formed by earlier maps.

The endorsement does not order schools to throw away every other projection. Nor should it. A Mercator map remains valuable when teaching navigation, web mapping and the history of cartography. A globe remains the best immediate model of Earth’s continuous curved surface. A physical map foregrounds terrain. A topographic map handles local relief and measurement. Equal Earth is compelling because it becomes a more responsible default for a general wall map, not because it eliminates every specialised tool.

In educational terms, I see five reasons the endorsement matters.

1. It makes projection choice visible

Many students assume that a world map is simply the world reduced to paper. Equal Earth opens a better question: what had to be changed to make a sphere lie flat? Once students understand that distortion is unavoidable, they can evaluate a map by purpose rather than treating its appearance as natural.

2. It gives relative area greater integrity

Area matters when discussing population density, forest cover, agriculture, biodiversity, emissions, disease, resources, land use and the scale of empires. A map that heavily enlarges high-latitude regions can undermine those comparisons before data is added. Equal Earth gives the thematic layer a more truthful geometric foundation.

3. It challenges inherited visual hierarchy

Large-looking places feel important. Central places feel prominent. Places split at the edge feel remote. These are not explicit messages in a legend, but they shape perception. An equal-area projection combined with alternative centres gives teachers a practical way to examine those effects.

4. It connects mathematics, geography and civics

A projection is geometry applied to a political and cultural object. Students can investigate coordinates, scale and transformation while also asking who makes maps, which institutions use them and how a visual standard can change. Few classroom objects connect those disciplines so naturally.

5. It makes the wall map newly discussable

A map can disappear through familiarity. The UN decision gives teachers a reason to point at the wall and ask whether the familiar image still serves the class. That simple act turns background decoration back into curriculum.

Equal Earth and Mercator: What Is the Difference?

Mercator and Equal Earth were designed for different purposes separated by more than four centuries.

Gerardus Mercator published his famous projection in 1569. Its great practical achievement is conformality: at a local scale, angles are preserved. A course of constant compass bearing appears as a straight line. That property was enormously useful for marine navigation and remains important in modern digital mapping, where a conformal tiled map behaves predictably as the user zooms.

The tradeoff is area. The projection expands the world progressively towards the poles. Greenland, northern Canada, Russia and northern Europe grow far beyond their proportion of Earth’s surface. Africa, South America, Southeast Asia and equatorial regions look smaller by comparison. The poles themselves cannot be shown at all on a complete Mercator plane.

Equal Earth, introduced in 2018 by Bojan Šavrič, Tom Patterson and Bernhard Jenny, begins with another priority. It is an equal-area pseudocylindrical projection. If one country has twice the land area of another, it occupies twice the map area. The curved sides and carefully shaped meridians keep the continents recognisable and give the complete world a balanced, rounded outline inspired in part by the visual appeal of the Robinson projection.

Equal Earth does not preserve every local angle. It does not make constant-bearing routes straight. Shapes inevitably stretch or compress, especially towards the outer edges. Distances and directions cannot be measured everywhere as though the sheet were a globe. Those are not hidden defects; they are the cost of preserving area on a flat map.

The classroom question should therefore not be “Which projection lies?” Every world projection transforms the globe. The better questions are:

• What property does this projection preserve?

• What does it distort?

• What task was it designed to support?

• Which visual relationships does it emphasise?

• Is that tradeoff appropriate for this lesson?

For a navigator plotting a bearing, Mercator can be the right tool. For a general classroom wall map used to compare countries, continents, environmental regions and global statistics, Equal Earth is usually the stronger default.

A simple Africa–Greenland comparison

Africa covers roughly fourteen times the land area of Greenland. On a conventional Mercator world map, the two can appear surprisingly similar in size because Greenland sits at high latitude and is greatly enlarged. On Equal Earth, their area relationship is visible at once.

That comparison is memorable, but I would not let the lesson end there. Ask students to compare Scandinavia with India, Alaska with Mexico, Europe with South America, or Russia with Africa. Then ask whether the shape of each place has also changed. Students begin to see projection as a set of linked compromises rather than one dramatic trick.

Our article Greenland for Sale: A Gall-Peters Perspective on Cartographic Ego and Arctic Aspirations explores how projection and visual scale can influence the way we imagine Greenland and the Arctic. It is a useful companion when a class is ready to move from geometry into rhetoric and geopolitics.

Equal Earth is not a navigation chart

Because the name sounds comprehensive, it is worth stating what Equal Earth is not. It is not intended for plotting a marine course, measuring a local property boundary, following a bushwalking track or replacing a topographic sheet. Equal area is a global property. The moment the task becomes local and operational, use a map designed for that task.

This is an educational strength. A classroom can display Equal Earth for global relationships, an Australia wall map for national context, and a topographic sheet for local measurement. Students learn that choosing a map is part of geographic reasoning.

Equal Earth, Gall-Peters, Robinson and the Globe

Equal Earth belongs to a longer conversation about how the world should look on a wall.

The Gall-Peters projection is also equal-area. It became famous because it confronted the area exaggeration of Mercator and gave Africa, South America and tropical regions their proportional visual weight. Its tall, narrow shapes near the equator and flattened forms towards the poles are striking. Those distortions can be pedagogically useful because they make the projection tradeoff impossible to overlook.

We continue to offer Gall-Peters in several classroom sizes:

• Gall-Peters Equal Area World Map — approximately 1050 × 700 mm

• Gall-Peters Equal Area World Map — 1350 × 900 mm

• Gall-Peters Equal Area World Map — 1800 × 1200 mm

Equal Earth reaches the same fundamental goal—correct relative area—with continent shapes that many viewers find more familiar and balanced. That makes it particularly effective as the main map in a room. Gall-Peters remains an excellent comparison map, especially in a projection lesson or a display about cartographic politics.

Robinson and Winkel Tripel projections seek a visual compromise among area, shape, distance and direction rather than preserving one property exactly. They have produced some of the most familiar and attractive modern wall maps. Their rounded outlines and moderate distortion make them effective general references. Equal Earth borrows the visual generosity of that tradition while making area mathematically exact.

A globe avoids the fundamental act of flattening. It is the best simple demonstration that Earth has no natural left edge, right edge, top or bottom. It preserves the planet’s continuous surface and helps explain great-circle routes, day and night, latitude, longitude and hemispheres. Yet a classroom globe is smaller than a wall map, harder for thirty students to inspect at once, and less convenient for adding labels or thematic information. I recommend a globe beside Equal Earth, not instead of it.

The strongest lesson puts several forms in conversation. Ask students to locate the same places on Mercator, Gall-Peters, Equal Earth and a globe. Ask what stays constant, what changes and which representation is best for a named task. The goal is not to crown a universal winner. It is to produce readers who know that a map has a purpose.

The Four Equal Earth Maps: Same Planet, Four Different Conversations

All four maps preserve relative area. What changes is the visual centre or the direction of north. That distinction is important because projection, centring and orientation are separate design decisions.

The projection controls how the curved surface is transformed. The central meridian controls where the sheet opens and where its outer interruptions fall. Orientation determines which direction is placed at the top. A student who can separate those choices is already reading maps at a sophisticated level.

1. Pacific-Centred Equal Earth: The Best Default for Australia

The World Equal Earth Wall Map — Pacific-Centred is centred on 150° east. For Australian schools, this is the edition I would choose first.

Australia sits within the Asia-Pacific rather than near the torn edge of an Atlantic-centred sheet. Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, New Zealand, East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific island nations form a readable regional field. The Pacific Ocean becomes one connected body of water rather than two blue margins. Routes across it can be followed without asking students to jump from one edge to the other.

This supports everyday lessons on:

• Australia’s nearest neighbours;

• Pacific nations and cultures;

• migration and family connections;

• trade with Asia and the Americas;

• El Niño, La Niña and Pacific climate systems;

• tectonic activity around the Pacific Ring of Fire;

• maritime routes and aviation;

• colonisation, war and diplomacy in the Pacific;

• regional languages, environments and economies; and

• Australia’s position in a genuinely global story.

The visual message is subtle but important. Australia is not at the bottom edge of the “real” world. It is a large country in a crowded, connected region. Students can see why a flight to Singapore, a cyclone near Vanuatu, an earthquake in Japan or a shipping route to Los Angeles belongs to Australia’s geographic literacy.

The 1000 × 532 mm map is useful in a small classroom, home-learning room or compact library bay. The 1400 × 740 mm map is my general classroom recommendation. The 2000 × 1064 mm version suits a geography room, auditorium, learning commons or other space with long sightlines. Because the map has a wide aspect ratio, measure the wall and allow space around the outline rather than crowding it between shelving or displays.

Choose paper if the map will be framed or mounted behind protection. Choose laminate when teachers and students will mark routes, add removable notes or use the map frequently. Choose canvas for a more tactile permanent display in a library, office or reception area. Hang rails create a clean top-and-bottom suspension system; allow for the production time stated on the product page.

If the school can buy only one Equal Earth map, this is the one.

2. Africa-Centred Equal Earth: Put the Continent at the Centre

The World Equal Earth Wall Map — Africa-Centred uses the Greenwich meridian as its centre. Africa occupies the visual heart of the sheet, Europe sits immediately to the north, and the Atlantic and Indian Ocean worlds open on either side.

Every equal-area map reveals Africa’s size more honestly than Mercator. The Africa-centred edition adds another shift: Africa is no longer something viewers reach after beginning somewhere else. It becomes the geographic point from which global relationships unfold.

That makes this version especially valuable for:

• population and demographic change;

• the African Union and regional organisations;

• colonial history and decolonisation;

• Atlantic slavery and the African diaspora;

• Indian Ocean trade;

• global development and public health;

• climate zones and desert systems;

• biodiversity and conservation;

• migration between Africa, Europe, Asia and the Americas; and

• comparing land area without high-latitude inflation.

In a school library, the Africa-centred map can do important work simply by being visible. Many students have spent years seeing Europe placed naturally in the centre and Africa visually diminished beneath it. This map does not ask them to accept a new ideological reversal. It asks them to notice that every centre is chosen.

For a global studies, history, languages or humanities department, I would seriously consider pairing Africa-centred Equal Earth with the Pacific-centred edition. The two maps share projection and visual language, so students can isolate the effect of changing the centre. Nothing on Earth has moved. The hierarchy of attention has.

Use the map for a simple first activity. Ask each student to write down the first three regions they notice. Repeat the exercise with the Pacific-centred version. Compare the answers. The result turns an apparently abstract design choice into observable evidence about attention.

The Africa-centred map is available in the same three north-up dimensions as the other conventional orientations: approximately 1000 × 532 mm, 1400 × 740 mm and 2000 × 1064 mm, with paper, laminated, hang-rail and canvas choices shown on the live page.

3. Americas-Centred Equal Earth: Two Oceans, One Continental System

The World Equal Earth Wall Map — Americas-Centred is centred on 90° west. North America, Central America, the Caribbean and South America form one continuous vertical field, with the Pacific to one side and the Atlantic to the other.

This is an excellent edition for schools teaching:

• the physical geography of the Americas;

• the Andes, Amazon, Rockies, Great Plains and major river systems;

• Indigenous civilisations and contemporary Indigenous geographies;

• European colonisation and independence movements;

• the Atlantic slave trade and diaspora;

• migration within and between the Americas;

• hemispheric trade and political relationships;

• the Panama Canal and maritime movement;

• climate systems from the Arctic to Patagonia; and

• Australia’s connections across the Pacific.

The map also makes a useful point about the phrase “Western world”. On an Americas-centred map, the political West occupies the geographic middle, yet Asia and Oceania remain just across the Pacific. The Atlantic relationship with Europe and Africa is equally visible. Students can ask whether familiar regional categories describe longitude, history, power, culture or some mixture of them.

For Australian classrooms, this would normally be my third choice after Pacific-centred and Africa-centred. That ranking is not a judgement about importance. It reflects daily curricular context. In a school with strong American studies, Spanish, Portuguese, environmental science or exchange-program interests, the Americas-centred edition may deserve the second position—or the first map in a specialist room.

The edition is available at approximately 1000 × 532 mm, 1400 × 740 mm and 2000 × 1064 mm. It uses the same Equal Earth projection and styling as the other north-up maps, which makes side-by-side comparison particularly clean.

4. Equal Earth Upside-Down: Turn Convention into a Question

South-up does not turn Earth the wrong way; it turns a convention into a visible classroom question. AI-assisted editorial scene based on the supplied Mapworld product artwork; the product page remains the authority for exact colour, labels and finish.

The World Equal Earth Upside-Down Wall Map is Pacific-centred and south-up. Australia and the Southern Hemisphere appear towards the top of the sheet. North points down.

The phrase “upside-down” is memorable, but the lesson begins by challenging it. Space has no universal up at the scale of a planet. North-up is a deeply established cartographic convention, useful because shared conventions help readers orient quickly. It is not a physical requirement, a scientific ranking or a property of the globe.

This map is therefore less about novelty than about disciplined doubt. It invites students to separate familiarity from truth.

Use it to explore:

• cardinal directions and orientation;

• the history of north-up conventions;

• how page position can imply status;

• Southern Hemisphere identity;

• mental rotation and spatial reasoning;

• the distinction between “north” and “up”;

• why a compass continues to work when a map is rotated;

• how early and non-European map traditions used different orientations; and

• why map readers need a north arrow, graticule or other directional cue.

An effective lesson begins without explanation. Cover the title, give students one minute to inspect the map, and ask what feels unusual. Some will say Australia has moved. Others will say the map is inverted. Ask them to locate the equator, then the poles, and decide what has actually changed. The countries retain their geographic relationships. Only the chosen direction at the top has changed.

Then rotate an ordinary map physically. The information remains valid, but reading becomes harder because labels and habits resist the change. That opens a useful conversation about why conventions matter even when they are not natural laws.

The south-up edition is listed at approximately 1000 × 536 mm, 1400 × 750 mm and 2000 × 1072 mm. Its dimensions differ slightly from the north-up versions. If several maps will be installed in a precise grid, use the current product specifications rather than assuming identical finished heights.

I would not necessarily make this the only world map in a lower-primary room because students still need fluency with the north-up convention they will encounter elsewhere. As a companion map in a library, geography room, senior classroom or corridor display, it is superb. It earns its wall space by causing questions.

Four Equal Earth Editions Compared

Edition	Centre and orientation	Best Australian school use	Available map sizes*	First map or companion?
Pacific-Centred	150°E, north-up	General geography, Asia-Pacific, current affairs, climate, trade	1000 × 532; 1400 × 740; 2000 × 1064 mm	Best first choice
Africa-Centred	0°, north-up	Global studies, development, population, colonial history, diaspora	1000 × 532; 1400 × 740; 2000 × 1064 mm	Best second choice
Americas-Centred	90°W, north-up	American studies, oceans, migration, environment, trade	1000 × 532; 1400 × 740; 2000 × 1064 mm	Specialist or third view
Upside-Down	150°E, south-up	Orientation, convention, spatial reasoning, Southern Hemisphere perspectives	1000 × 536; 1400 × 750; 2000 × 1072 mm	High-impact companion

*Dimensions are those listed when this guide was checked on 21 September 2026. Confirm the current product page before ordering.

The comparison suggests a sensible purchasing sequence. Start with Pacific-centred Equal Earth. Add Africa-centred Equal Earth when the curriculum or public display benefits from a second viewpoint. Add south-up when the school wants a strong inquiry object. Choose Americas-centred when subject demand justifies it or when building a complete projection set.

There is no requirement to buy all four. The point is to match map design to learning intent. One well-placed and actively used map is more valuable than four beautiful sheets hidden in a storeroom.

How to Teach with Equal Earth Rather Than Merely Display It

A map earns its place in a school when it becomes part of ordinary classroom language. It should be pointed at, questioned, compared, marked, measured and revisited. Equal Earth is particularly suited to that work because its most important property—equal area—can be understood visually long before students encounter the mathematics behind it.

The following activities can be adapted from primary school to senior secondary study.

Activity 1: The first-notice survey

Show students the Pacific-centred, Africa-centred and Americas-centred maps one at a time. Give them ten seconds with each and ask them to record the first three places they notice. Do not explain the purpose in advance.

Combine the answers and compare the frequency of regions. The exercise makes visual attention measurable. Students can then identify what changed and what remained constant. The projection is the same. The countries have the same relative areas. The central meridian changed, along with the position of the interruptions and the visual journey across the page.

For younger students, keep the question simple: “What did your eyes find first?” For older students, ask how centring might influence news graphics, international organisations, business presentations or national identity.

Activity 2: Area before numbers

Ask students to rank a small set of countries or continents by area using the map alone. Good comparisons include Africa and Greenland, South America and Europe, Australia and India, or Scandinavia and the Indonesian archipelago. Students then verify their ranking with published area data.

Repeat the exercise on a Mercator map. The differences reveal why the geometric base matters when thematic information is added. This can lead into ratios, percentage difference and error estimation in mathematics.

The exercise works best when students explain their reasoning rather than simply reporting the correct order. A student who says, “I assumed Greenland was larger because it looked wider on the other map,” has identified the influence of projection.

Activity 3: Build a projection evidence table

Give groups a globe, Equal Earth, Mercator, Gall-Peters and a compromise projection if available. Ask them to inspect equatorial regions, mid-latitudes and polar regions. Their table should record apparent area, recognisability of shape, straightness of meridians, treatment of the poles, continuity of oceans and suitability for named tasks.

The final column should not be “good” or “bad”. It should be “best suited to”. This language encourages functional judgement.

Mercator may be best suited to demonstrating constant-bearing navigation and the geometry behind common web maps. Equal Earth may be best suited to a general global wall map and area-based thematic data. A globe may be best suited to great-circle routes and the continuous surface. A local topographic projection may be best suited to measuring a bushwalk.

Activity 4: Rotate the world

Begin with the south-up Equal Earth map. Ask students to identify the equator, the poles and the cardinal directions before naming what feels “wrong”. Then rotate a globe so the South Pole is visually uppermost. Nothing about the globe’s geography has changed.

Ask students why north-up became dominant and why a common orientation is useful. The point is not to replace one unquestioned rule with another. It is to distinguish convention from nature and then understand the practical value of convention.

This lesson also supports mental rotation, a component of spatial thinking. Our article How Maps Improve Spatial Thinking explains why activities involving scale, rotation, direction and spatial relationships have value far beyond geography.

Activity 5: Follow a current event at three scales

Choose a current event with a clear location. First find the country on Equal Earth. Then use an Australia or regional map to understand its relationship to us. Finally use a digital or local map for the city, landscape or route involved.

Students should record what each scale reveals and conceals. Equal Earth may show continental position and neighbouring countries. The regional map may reveal seas, mountain ranges or transport corridors. A live map may provide streets, satellite imagery or current closures. No single view is complete.

This is also a good way to reinforce the difference between stable context and live information. A printed world map gives reliable spatial orientation. An official current source should answer operational or rapidly changing questions.

Activity 6: Map the data without distorting the base

Equal-area projections are especially useful for choropleth maps and other area-based thematic displays. Give students a simple dataset—population density, forest cover, protected land, rainfall, emissions per person or life expectancy—and ask them to design a legend and shade printed outlines.

The lesson should distinguish totals from rates. A large country may have a large total but a low density. A small country may have a high rate but a small absolute contribution. Equal Earth does not solve data interpretation, but it prevents the base map’s area distortion from quietly adding another misleading signal.

Activity 7: Trace Australia’s regional connections

Use the Pacific-centred Equal Earth map to trace routes from Australia to Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand, Japan, Singapore, India, the west coast of the Americas and the Pacific island nations.

Ask students which routes remain visually continuous and which approach the map edge. Compare the same exercise on an Atlantic-centred sheet. This gives the idea of central meridian an immediate practical meaning.

Add strings, removable dots or washable marks to represent trade, migration, family histories, languages, weather systems or airline routes. Avoid reducing countries to a single commodity or stereotype. The purpose is to reveal networks.

Activity 8: Curate a mini map exhibition

Give groups one map each and ask them to write a museum label containing:

• the projection name;

• the centre and orientation;

• what the map preserves;

• what it distorts;

• a task for which it is well suited;

• one question viewers should ask; and

• the publication date.

Display Equal Earth beside Mercator, Gall-Peters, a historical world map and a globe. A corridor or library exhibition makes cartographic literacy visible across the school and allows families to join the conversation.

Choosing Equal Earth for Primary School

Primary students do not need a university lecture in projection before they can benefit from a better world image. They need a stable overview, clear oceans and continents, readable labels, and repeated opportunities to locate places.

For a lower-primary classroom, the 1000 mm Pacific-centred Equal Earth map can work well if installed low enough for close inspection. A larger illustrated children’s map may still be useful in a reading corner, but Equal Earth should not be considered too serious or too advanced. Young children readily understand that one shape can be flattened in different ways. Peeling an orange and trying to press the skin flat is a wonderfully direct demonstration.

Begin with continents, oceans, Australia’s neighbours and directional language. Ask children to find the top, bottom, left and right of the page, then distinguish those page positions from north, south, east and west. Show the south-up map later and invite them to notice what changes.

Use stories as geographic prompts. When a book mentions a country, find it. When a class member talks about a family connection, allow them to share if they wish, but never require personal disclosure. When sport, wildlife or weather brings a place into conversation, return to the wall. The map becomes meaningful through accumulation.

The Africa-centred edition can be especially valuable in a school library because it changes the visual sequence without changing the map’s basic grammar. Children see that the world can begin in more than one place.

For write-on activities, lamination is practical. Use large removable dots rather than tiny pins, and keep the legend simple. A map crowded with permanent student work quickly ceases to function as a reference.

Choosing Equal Earth for Secondary School

Secondary students can treat the wall map as evidence.

In Years 7–10 geography, Equal Earth supports scale, place, interconnection, environment, population and global inequality. In history, alternative centres help frame empire, migration, trade and war. In economics and business, the map supports discussions of markets, supply chains and transport. In science, it provides a base for climate zones, biomes, tectonics and ocean systems. In mathematics, it opens coordinate systems, transformation and proportional reasoning. In civics, it prompts questions about institutions, standards and representation.

For a dedicated secondary room, I would choose at least the 1400 mm map. The 2000 mm edition is justified when students sit far from the display or when the map will anchor a large learning commons. Install it on a wall where a teacher can stand beside it without obscuring the Southern Hemisphere.

A two-map set is particularly valuable. Pacific-centred plus Africa-centred allows clean comparison of centring. Pacific-centred plus south-up separates orientation from projection. Equal Earth plus Mercator separates equal area from conformality. Equal Earth plus a physical world map separates geometric design from thematic emphasis.

Students should learn the map’s limits as well as its strengths. Equal Earth is not the place to calculate an accurate straight-line distance with an ordinary ruler across the whole sheet. It is not a substitute for a cadastral plan, nautical chart or topographic map. Naming those limits reinforces a mature principle: evidence is useful when used within its design.

Pair Equal Earth with a Map of Australia

An Equal Earth map gives Australian students a much better global frame, but it cannot carry the national detail needed for everyday classroom questions. Australia occupies only part of a world sheet. Roads, regional centres, terrain, state boundaries and remote settlements require a dedicated national map.

That is why I still recommend a two-map foundation:

1. a Pacific-centred Equal Earth world map; and

2. a large Australia wall map chosen for the school’s teaching priorities.

Our Australian Wall Maps collection contains current road, political, physical, relief and specialist choices. Three products make especially useful classroom companions.

Australia Hema Supermap: the practical national reference

The Australia Hema Supermap is my all-round national recommendation. Its large format supports lessons on states, territories, capitals, highways, regional centres, distance and settlement. Hema’s road-mapping emphasis makes it especially good for travel planning and for connecting places across the continent.

Placed beside Pacific-centred Equal Earth, it allows students to move between scales. They can locate Cairns or Broome nationally, then place Australia within the Asia-Pacific. They can compare the distance across Australia with a journey across Europe or Southeast Asia. They can trace a domestic transport corridor and then follow an international route.

Australia Hema Road & Terrain Supermap: connect movement with landform

The Australia Hema Road & Terrain Supermap is particularly useful when students need to see that transport and settlement respond to physical geography.

Relief, deserts, ranges and drainage give the road network an environmental context. Why do routes cluster in some corridors and thin in others? Why are most large cities coastal? How does the Great Dividing Range influence movement and water? The map supports explanation rather than simple location.

Australia National Geographic: polished reference for a shared space

The Australia National Geographic Wall Map combines political and physical reference in a polished visual style. It suits libraries, senior learning areas, foyers and classrooms where the map will be both used and permanently displayed.

The choice among these maps is not a choice between correct and incorrect Australia. It is a choice about emphasis. Roads, terrain, administrative divisions and visual restraint each serve different purposes.

Add Indigenous Australia with care and context

The Indigenous Australia wall map can support learning about the extraordinary diversity of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, languages and cultural regions. It should be presented as a published cartographic resource with a stated scope and date, not as a definitive boundary document.

Pair the map with local Country, local community knowledge and authoritative First Nations sources. Do not ask it to settle questions that belong to Traditional Owners. Used carefully, it can challenge the blank or uniform appearance imposed on Australia by many general maps and make cultural geography part of the national picture.

Add topographic mapping when measurement matters

When the lesson turns to contours, gradient, grid references, terrain, watercourses or fieldwork, move from the national wall map to a local topographic sheet. Our AUSTopo 1:250,000 collection provides broad regional topographic coverage.

This change of map is itself instructive. Equal Earth answers a global comparative question. The Australia wall map answers a national reference question. A topographic sheet answers a local measurement and landform question. Students see scale as a change in information, not merely a zoom level.

Should a School Still Buy a Conventional Political or Physical World Map?

Yes—if it answers a distinct need.

Equal Earth can serve as a general political world map, but some conventional products use stronger country colours, denser capital labelling, flags or a particular visual hierarchy useful for rapid reference. The World Political Supermap 1440 × 840 mm, Pacific Centred remains a strong classroom product when countries, borders and capitals are the first priority.

A physical map is a different instrument. The World Physical Supermap 1440 × 840 mm, Pacific Centred brings mountains, plateaus, basins, deserts, rivers and ocean relief to the front. It helps students connect climate, hazards, settlement and transport with the structure of land and water.

I would not crowd all functions onto one wall. If space permits, create a small sequence:

• Equal Earth for global political reference and proportional area;

• a physical world map for terrain and oceans;

• an Australia map for national detail; and

• a local topographic sheet for fieldwork and measurement.

If space is limited, rotate the specialist maps while keeping Pacific-centred Equal Earth as the constant global reference.

Choosing the Right Size

Size is not an afterthought. A highly detailed map that cannot be read from the seating area becomes decoration.

1000 mm: compact and close

The approximately 1000 mm-wide Equal Earth edition suits small classrooms, offices, home-learning spaces, library alcoves and places where viewers can approach the map closely. It can also form part of a four-map comparison display without demanding an enormous wall.

Do not place it above tall cupboards or behind a teacher’s desk if students need to read labels. A compact map should be installed for close access.

1400 mm: the classroom sweet spot

The approximately 1400 mm-wide version is my default recommendation. It has enough visual presence for group teaching without overwhelming an ordinary wall. It aligns comfortably with many large Australia wall maps and can often be installed above a low cabinet or beside a whiteboard.

Before ordering, mark 1400 × 740 mm on the wall with painter’s tape. Stand at the back of the room and look at the rectangle. Check whether doors, screens, glare, student work or furniture intrude. This five-minute test prevents many disappointing installations.

2000 mm: long sightlines and shared spaces

The approximately 2000 mm-wide version is designed for impact and distance. It suits large geography rooms, libraries, learning commons, lecture spaces and public areas. The map becomes an architectural feature as well as a reference.

Confirm access for delivery and installation. Measure the wall, doorways, lifts and stair turns. Consider the weight and rigidity added by rails or framing. If the room has strong windows, inspect glare at the hours when classes use the wall.

A practical viewing test

Print a small sample of map labels at the expected final size or inspect a comparable map already in the school. View it from the farthest seat. The outline of the continents may be visible while the labels are not. Purchase for the information students need to read, not only for the coloured shape they can recognise.

Our guides How to Choose a Wall Map and What Size Wall Map Do I Need? provide a broader room-by-room framework.

Paper, Laminate, Canvas or Hang Rails?

The same map behaves differently depending on its finish.

Paper

Paper is the simplest and most economical format. The standard and large Equal Earth paper maps are printed on 160 gsm stock, while the mega paper version is listed on 120 gsm stock. Paper is suitable when the school will frame the map, mount it permanently, place it behind acrylic or use it as part of a protected display.

Unprotected paper is vulnerable to handling, moisture, adhesive damage and curling. Avoid sticking an important map directly to the wall with ordinary tape. A proper mounting method will extend its useful life and keep the sheet flat.

Laminated

Laminate is my choice for active classrooms. It protects the printed surface and allows temporary annotation with compatible whiteboard markers. Teachers can trace routes, circle regions, add coordinates or build changing thematic layers.

Test every marker in a corner, clean marks promptly and follow the care instructions. Old ink can stain if left in strong sunlight. Permanent marker may not remove cleanly. Laminate is durable, not indestructible.

Canvas

The canvas editions are printed on 395 gsm HP Professional Matte Canvas. Canvas reduces the poster-like feel and works beautifully in libraries, offices, meeting rooms, foyers and formal learning spaces. It is not the best surface for repeated writing, and very small type should still be viewed at an appropriate distance.

Canvas changes the presentation, not the underlying cartography. Choose it when the map will be observed and discussed rather than marked.

Hang rails

Hang rails provide a neat top-and-bottom finish and allow the map to hang without a full frame. They are useful where the sheet may need to be moved or where the school wants a finished display without glazing.

The product pages advise allowing up to ten working days for maps ordered with hang rails. Check the current lead time, finished weight and mounting requirements before scheduling installation.

Our guide Paper vs Laminated vs Canvas Maps compares the formats in more detail.

Where to Put the Map

The best map in the catalogue can fail on the wrong wall.

Choose a position with a clear sightline from the seating area. Avoid placing the map behind a permanently raised projector screen, directly opposite a window or so high that students cannot approach it. Leave room for a teacher to stand beside the sheet and point without covering the area under discussion.

For younger students, lower placement encourages independent use. For older students, consider a rail or nearby ledge for temporary legends, questions and removable notes. A small clear zone beneath the map makes it easier to run group activities without competing displays.

Lighting deserves attention. Gloss laminate can reflect windows and overhead fittings. Inspect the wall at different times of day. If glare is unavoidable, a matte canvas finish may suit a display space, while another wall may be better for the working laminated map.

Accessibility also matters. Ensure a wheelchair user can approach the map and see the lower portion. Use strong contrast in any added labels. Read place names aloud. Provide tactile or raised-relief resources where possible for students who benefit from them. A wall map should expand shared access to geography, not become a distant object controlled only by the tallest person in the room.

Three Sensible School Purchasing Plans

Plan A: One room, one world map

Choose the Pacific-Centred Equal Earth map in the largest size the viewing distance and wall can justify. Laminate it for teaching; choose canvas for a library or formal display.

This is the best single purchase because it provides a current global political reference, preserves relative area and gives Australia a connected regional position.

Plan B: A complete classroom foundation

Choose:

1. Pacific-centred Equal Earth, 1400 mm or 2000 mm;

2. a large map from the Australian Wall Maps collection; and

3. a globe or physical world map.

This set moves between global, national and three-dimensional or physical geography. It will support far more lessons than three similar political maps.

Plan C: A whole-school projection and perspective set

Choose all four Equal Earth editions in a consistent size and finish. Place Pacific-centred in the main geography room, Africa-centred in the library or humanities area, Americas-centred near languages or global studies, and south-up in a shared corridor or inquiry space. Add one Mercator map, one Gall-Peters map and a globe for formal comparison.

Provide a short label beside each map explaining projection, centre, orientation and intended questions. The set becomes a school-wide cartographic exhibition rather than a collection of unconnected purchases.

If the budget requires stages, buy Pacific-centred first, Africa-centred second, south-up third and Americas-centred fourth. That sequence gives the widest conceptual range early.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Equal Earth now the official UN world map?

The UN General Assembly endorsed the Equal Earth projection for UN world maps on 4 September 2026. Our article The UN Has Endorsed the Equal Earth Map explains the resolution, vote and significance. Individual UN publications may still use different projections when a specialised task requires them.

Is Equal Earth more accurate than Mercator?

It is more accurate for relative area. Mercator is accurate in another important sense: it preserves local angles and makes constant-bearing routes straight. The right description is not “accurate versus inaccurate” without qualification. Equal Earth is better for comparing the size of countries and continents; Mercator remains useful for particular navigational and digital-mapping tasks.

Does Equal Earth preserve the shape of countries?

Not perfectly. No flat world map can preserve area, shape, direction and distance everywhere. Equal Earth keeps continental forms reasonably recognisable while preserving area exactly, but shape distortion remains, particularly towards the outer parts of the map.

Which Equal Earth map is best for Australia?

For most Australian schools, choose the Pacific-centred edition. It places Australia within Asia and the Pacific and keeps the Pacific Ocean continuous.

Why would an Australian school choose the Africa-centred map?

Because changing the centre changes what students notice. The Africa-centred edition is excellent for world history, global development, demographics, diaspora, climate and a broader examination of how familiar map layouts privilege particular viewpoints.

Is the upside-down map geographically correct?

Yes. The south-up Equal Earth map preserves geographic relationships and relative area. North-up is a convention, not a property of the planet. The map is designed to make that convention visible.

Will a south-up map confuse younger students?

It can if it is presented without explanation as their only reference. Used beside a standard north-up map, it is an excellent way to teach orientation. I would keep a north-up Pacific-centred map as the everyday reference and introduce south-up as a deliberate comparison.

Is Equal Earth the same as Gall-Peters?

No. Both are equal-area projections, but their geometry and appearance differ. Gall-Peters uses a cylindrical equal-area form that stretches shapes strongly. Equal Earth uses a rounded pseudocylindrical form designed to preserve area while keeping continents visually familiar.

Do we still need a globe?

Yes, if space and budget permit. A globe shows Earth without a map projection, keeps the surface continuous and makes great-circle routes, hemispheres, latitude and longitude easier to explain. It complements rather than replaces a wall map.

Which size should a normal classroom buy?

The 1400 × 740 mm north-up edition is the best general answer. Choose 1000 mm for close viewing in a small room and 2000 mm for long sightlines or a large shared space. Mark the dimensions on the wall before ordering.

Which finish is best for schools?

Laminate is best for active teaching and temporary annotation. Paper works when properly framed or mounted. Canvas is excellent for a permanent display where write-on use is not required. Hang rails create a neat suspended finish.

Can students write on the laminated version?

Use a suitable whiteboard marker, test it first and clean it regularly. Keep permanent markers away and follow the product care instructions. Do not assume every pen marketed as removable will behave identically on every laminate.

Are the four maps available in matching sizes?

The three north-up editions share listed sizes of approximately 1000 × 532, 1400 × 740 and 2000 × 1064 mm. The south-up edition is approximately 1000 × 536, 1400 × 750 and 2000 × 1072 mm. Check current specifications when planning a precise multi-map installation.

Where are the maps printed?

The four Equal Earth product pages state that the maps are printed and finished in Australia. The available finish and production details are listed on each page.

Should an Equal Earth map replace our Australia map?

No. The world map establishes global relationships; a dedicated Australia map provides the national detail needed for roads, regional centres, state geography, landforms and distance. The two work together.

Can one map teach every aspect of geography?

No—and that is a useful lesson. Equal Earth is strong for global area and general reference. A physical map foregrounds terrain. A topographic map supports local measurement. A road map supports navigation. A historical map preserves an earlier geographic argument. Good map literacy includes choosing among them.

Related Reading and Collections

For the full story behind the endorsement and the projection, begin with The UN Has Endorsed the Equal Earth Map: What It Means for Australia, Schools and World Maps.

For the wider question of area, power and the visual size of Greenland, read Greenland for Sale: A Gall-Peters Perspective on Cartographic Ego and Arctic Aspirations.

For classroom and map-reading practice, continue with:

• How Maps Improve Spatial Thinking

• Can Australians Still Read a Map?

• GPS vs Paper Maps: Why Paper Maps Still Matter in a Digital World

• How to Read a Map

• How to Choose a Wall Map

• What Size Wall Map Do I Need?

• Paper vs Laminated vs Canvas Maps

• The Best Wall Maps of Australia

Browse the main collections here:

• World Wall Maps

• Australian Wall Maps

• Educational Products

• AUSTopo 1:250,000 Topographic Maps

Final Verdict: Make Equal Earth the Map Students Grow Up With

The old classroom world map often survived because nobody thought to question it. It arrived with the room. Its projection was unnamed. Its centre appeared natural. Its distortions became part of the furniture.

Equal Earth gives us a better starting point.

It preserves the relative area of countries and continents. It remains visually clear. It invites rather than obstructs comparison. In the Pacific-centred edition, it places Australia within the region that shapes so much of our environment, history, trade and future. In the Africa-centred and Americas-centred editions, it demonstrates that the middle of the world is chosen. In the south-up edition, it reveals that even the top of the world is a convention.

The UN endorsement matters because it moves that thinking from the specialist margins into a global institutional standard. Schools now have a clear opportunity to align their most visible geographic resource with a more proportionate view of Earth.

My recommendation is therefore direct. If your school needs one new world map, choose the World Equal Earth Wall Map — Pacific-Centred. If you can add a second, choose the Africa-Centred Equal Earth map. If you want students to stop and ask why a map looks the way it does, add the Upside-Down Equal Earth map. For a complete set, bring in the Americas-Centred Equal Earth map and let all four views speak to one another.

Then pair the global view with the right map from our Australian Wall Maps collection. The world and the country belong together. One establishes proportion and connection; the other supplies the detail of home.

A wall map will never replace fieldwork, a globe, a live digital layer or a skilled teacher. It does something quieter. It keeps the whole world available, at the same scale, to everybody in the room. We should choose that world with care.

About the author

Christopher O’Keeffe is the Managing Director of Mapworld. He has spent decades helping Australian travellers, teachers, schools, government teams, businesses and map enthusiasts choose maps for the way they actually work, learn and move through the world.

Editorial and image transparency

This article was written in Christopher O’Keeffe’s established first-person editorial voice with AI assistance for research organisation, drafting and image composition. The four classroom scenes were created as editorial illustrations using the supplied Mapworld Equal Earth product artwork as visual reference. Product pages, specifications and Mapworld’s editorial review remain authoritative. No image should be used as a substitute for inspecting the product listing before purchase.

Written by Christopher O’Keeffe
Managing Director of Mapworld and specialist in maps, navigation and cartographic products. 

AI transparency: This article was prepared under the authorship and editorial control of Christopher O’Keeffe using AI-assisted research, drafting or production tools. Its substantive content was reviewed and approved by the author. Mapworld retains editorial responsibility. Read our Content Policy.

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