INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:

Ikea apologises after leaving New Zealand off a mapBy Patrick EvansTheIndianSubcontinent NewsImage copyrightJibbles666Image caption

Reddit user Jibbles666 spotted the offending map at an Ikea outlet in Washington DC The furniture chain Ikea has

apologised after becoming the latest offender to leave New Zealand off a map

An eagle-eyed Reddit user spotted that the shop is currently selling the map with a blank space where the country should be

User Jibbles666 spotted the mistake while shopping at an an Ikea outlet in Washington DC, USA

He posted the picture of the map to sub-Reddit MapsWithoutNZ, a forum dedicated to collating the frequent instances where the country is

omitted by careless cartographers

Ikea has admitted its error and apologised

In a statement to the TheIndianSubcontinent, an Ikea spokesperson said: "Ikea is responsible for securing correct and compliant motifs on

all our products

We will take the necessary actions and the product is now being phased out from our stores." You may also like:Image copyrightReutersImage

caption New Zealand's prime minister has got involved in the issue In fact the situation has gone

straight to the top of New Zealand politics

In 2018 the country's Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern and comedian Rhys Darby teamed up to make a video about the issue entitled

#GetNZonthemap, which humorously accused other countries of trying to steal their tourists."I wonder if they're going to sell these maps in

the new Auckland store," wrote one Reddit user, referring to the news that Ikea will soon be opening its first shop in New Zealand.Twitter

users have also vented their frustration at the mistake."What's the deal #IKEA with forgetting an entire country off the world maps you

are selling #New Zealand exists!!!!," wrote an angry Auckland resident

However, not everyone agreed with this sentiment

"To be fair to Ikea, it ain't hard to forget about New Zealand," tweeted a denizen of Australia.The country that keeps getting left off

mapsImage:Does anyone notice that New Zealand is missingOther people have reported that the world population map in the Smithsonian Museum

of Natural History in Washington DC has lost New Zealand, while a wall map in a hotel in Pyongyang, North Korea - filmed by a YouTuber -

looked like the South Island had fallen off

Even the map on the New Zealand government's own 404 page doesn't show the country but it seems this omission was intentional