The UN General Assembly on Friday voted 164-1 to back an African-led resolution promoting a world map that more accurately reflects the size of Africa, with the United States the only country opposing the measure and six abstaining.
The non-binding “Correct the Map” resolution, spearheaded by Togo and backed by African Union members, encourages governments, schools and institutions to move towards equal-area projections such as the 2018 Equal Earth map, which reduces the distortions of the widely used Mercator projection.
The Mercator map, created by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569, makes landmasses near the poles appear disproportionately large. Africa, for example, appears far smaller than its actual size compared with Greenland.
Supporters say the change would provide a fairer representation of the world’s continents and challenge long-standing perceptions created by distorted maps. Togo’s Foreign Minister Robert Dussey has described the initiative as part of a broader effort to promote a more balanced representation of Africa.
The United States opposed the resolution, arguing that the General Assembly should focus on more pressing global issues.
The vote does not ban the Mercator projection or legally require countries to adopt a particular map, but supporters hope it will encourage wider use of more accurate projections in education, institutions and digital mapping.
